L  I  B  ^ 

Ihcolooifill  J'fmiuavii, 

PBiNCErnx.  X.  j. 

The  Stephen  C'nllius  Donation. 

!  .Yo.  Case,  BJ I  OOh 

No.  _X:Sj^S  .7S  . 

No.  Booh, 


4 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2018  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/eclecticmoralphi00boyd_0 


^  • 


'n 


/ 


‘•■l’ 


•> 


-  Ik 


( 


N 


I 


-"V“  * 


' 


V  '  •  < 


t 


t; 


i* 


^  / 


\ 


s 


► 


E 


< 


t 


•  't  • 


\ 


\ 


1 


% 


'  N 

f 


/ 


/ 


FT' 


f 


.  u 

\ 


^  • 


•v 


•  • 


I 


I 


‘.:v 


>•  >•<>.,* 

I  ’ 


I 


j  \  ■ 

-  I 


X  '•'  ' 

“  ,  ^ 

r  * 


4 


i 


.4 


i 


•  V  ■  *4  •’  «  v^ni  *  • 


\ 


4 


9 


•  •'  * 


^y.  ‘.v  tm,  < 

'»  ^ 

•  -  ri 


•» 


9 


J 


N 


\ 


( 


ECLECTIC 


MOEAL  PHILOSOPHY. 


PREPARED  FOR 

LITERARY  INSTITUTIONS  AND  GENERAL  USE. 


BY  REV.  J.  R.  BOYD,  A.M. 


PRINCIPAL  OF  JEFFERSON  COUNTY  INSTITUTE,  NEW  YORK. 

AUTHOR  OF 

“ELE.MENTS  OF  RHETORIC  AND  LITERARY  CRITICISM.” 


“Moral  conduct  is  the  business  of  every  man ;  and  therefore  the  knowledge  of 
it  ought  to  be  within  the  reach  of  all.” — Dr.  Reid. 


% 


HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  PUBLISHERS, 
CLIFF  STREET,  NEW  YORK. 

184  0. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1846, 
By  Harper  &  Brothers, 

In  the  Clerk’s  Office  of  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


PREFACE. 


The  work  now  offered  to  the  public  owes  its  pro¬ 
duction  to  the  idea  that  it  was  needed  by  instructors 
in  their  educational  labors  ;  at  the  same  time  the  wants 
of  the  general  reader  have  been  duly  regarded.  It  is 
well  known,  by  those  who  have  some  experience  in 
the  branch  of  moral  instruction,  that  there  are  few 
works  indeed  that  are  suitable  to  the  wants  of  a  large 
proportion  of  youth  at  school.  The  treatise  of  Dr. 
Paley,  while  it  contains  some  admirable  chapters, 
abounds  in  others  that  are  erroneous,  defective,  and 
pernicious  ;  so  that  it  cannot  be  safely  studied  without 
an  able  and  discriminating  commentator  at  hand,  to 
point  out  the  existing  errors,  and  to  supply  defects. 
Beside,  much  of  the  matter  contained  in  it  is  of  little 
interest  or  practical  utility. 

It  was  because  he  dissented  from  many  of  the  prin¬ 
ciples  contained  in  Paley,  and  was  obliged  to  offer  on 
many  points  a  different  course  of  instruction,  that  Dr. 
Wayland,  as  he  informs  us,  found  it  convenient  to 
prepare,  for  the  use  of  his  collegiate  classes,  a  system 
of  his  own ;  and  this  has  been  regularly  advancing  in 
public  favor,  and  has  deservedly  supplanted,  in  not  a 
few  institutions,  the  defective  and  erroneous,  though 
generally  popular,  work  of  Paley. 

The  inquiry  will  now  naturally  arise.  Why  still 
another  text-book  is  urged  upon  public  notice,  ac¬ 
ceptance,  use,  since  the  work  of  Dr.  Wayland  stands 


IV 


PREFACE. 


among  the  ablest,  if  it  is  not  the  ablest,  treatise  on 
moral  science  extant? 

The  compiler  is  here  most  happy  to  acknowledge 
the  distinguished  talent  of  Dr.  Wayland,  his  former 
instructor,  and  the  surpassing  excellence  of  the  work 
he  has  prepared,  and  also  its  full  adaptation  to  the 
class  of  scholars  for  whom  it  was  specially  intended 
(those  in  an  advanced  stage  of  collegiate  training), 
provided  that  it  is  used  by  an  instructor  so  able  as  its 
accomplished  author.  The  account  which  Dr.  Way- 
land  has  himself  given  of  the  character  of  his  own 
work,  together  with  some  experience  of  the  compiler 
in  the  use  of  that  work  with  students  in  an  academic 
course,  forms  a  sufficient  apology  for  the  preparation 
of  the  work  now  offered,  which  will  be  found,  it  is 
hoped,  better  adapted  than  the  former  to  the  capacities 
of  the  great  mass  of  instructors  and  students,  because 
more  full  and  explicit  in  its  delineations  of  moral 
duties.  It  is  intended  to  supply  a  deficiency  which 
they  would  find  in  Dr.  Wayland’s  work,  and  which 
is  noticed  by  himself,  in  the  following  terms,  in  the 
preface : — 

“  I  have  rarely  gone  into  extended  discussion,  but 
have  contented  myself  with  the  attempt  to  state  the 
moral  law,  and  the  reason  of  it,  in  as  few  and  as  com¬ 
prehensive  terms  as  possible.  The  illustration  of  the 
principles,  and  the  application  of  them  to  cases  in 
ordinary  life,  I  have  generally  left  to  the  instructor,  or 
to  the  student  himself.” 

The  compiler  is  persuaded  that,  for  most  academic 
institutions  and  union  district-schools,  a  work  is  needed 
on  moral  science,  which,  while  it  expounds  the  great 
principles  of  the  theory  of  morals  in  a  full  and  explicit 


PREFACE. 


V 


manner,  shall  also  exhibit  in  detail  the  greater  and  the 
lesser  moralities  of  life,  since  in  most  cases,  with  teach¬ 
ers  and  students,  the  text-book  must  furnish  nearly  all 
that  is  thought  of  on  the  subject. 

The  compiler  would  not  have  ventured  to  prepare 
what  might  be  denominated  an  original  work — the 
product  of  the  original  investigations  of  his  own  mind, 
— because  he  must  in  that  case  have  offered  to  the 
public  a  work  much  inferior  to  many  now  in  use ;  but 
he  does  venture  to  present  a  work  that  combines,  in  a 
connected  form,  what  he  considers  the  best  thoughts  of 
not  a  few  of  the  most  gifted  moral  writers  of  the  present 
century,  not  of  those  only  who  have  wnatten  a  Moral 
Philosophy,  but  of  others. 

The  work  is  almost  strictly  a  compilation ;  yet  it 
has  cost  the  labor  of  extensive  reading,  of  an  anxious, 
and  often  perplexing  comparison  of  various  authors, 
of  the  preparation  of  a  new  arrangement  of  topics,  and 
of  a  somewhat  novel  mode  of  treatment. 

The  leading  questions  that  have  been  prepared  for 
each  article  ;  the  prominent  and  specific  scriptural 
sources  whence  the  duties  of  man  have  been  derived  ; 
the  ample  exposition  of  the  Ten  Commandments  ;  the 
moral  lessons  derived  from  the  biography  of  Christ : 
the  numerous  illustrations  of  duty  by  anecdote ;  the 
introduction  of  some  of  the  most  convincing  arguments 
for  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  the  removal  of  many 
popular  objections  and  misrepresentations  in  respect 
to  the  moral  teachings  of  the  Bible  ;  the  freedom  from 
abstruseness  of  style,  and  the  omission  of  many  topics, 
which,  though  often  introduced  in  works  of  this  sort, 
are  not  particularly  important  or  interesting  ;  the  high 
moral  standard  to  which  the  student  is  continually 


VI 


PREFACE. 


referred ;  the  light  thrown  upon  the  preceptive  parts 
of  the  sacred  volume ;  and  the  intended  adaptation 
of  the  work  to  form,  after  the  purest  rules,  the  char¬ 
acter  and  conduct  of  the  young ; — all  these  properties, 
which,  it  is  humbly  believed,  the  work  will  bo  allowed 
to  possess,  seem  to  commend  it  to  the  acceptance,  not 
only  of  instructors,  but  of  all  who  feel  interested  in 
learning  the  various  duties  of  man — the  modes  also  in 
which  the  law  of  the  Supreme  Governor  is  violated, 
and  the  motives  which  should  influence  to  obedience, 
together  with  the  good  effects  of  it  upon  individuals 
and  the  world  at  large. 

“  When  the  obligations  of  morality  are  taught,”  says 
Dr.  Johnson,  “let  the  sanctions  of  Christianity  never 
be  forgotten ;  by  which  it  will  be  shown  that  they 
give  strength  and  luster  to  each  other  :  religion  will 
appear  to  be  the  voice  of  reason,  and  morality  will  be 
the  will  of  God.”  The  following  work  is  constructed 
upon  this  important  and  fundamental  principle. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  the  following 
work,  because  it  goes  to  the  Scriptures  as  the  best  of 
the  sources  of  information  with  respect  to  our  duty,  is, 
in  any  proper  sense,  a  theological  or  sectarian  work. 
The  morals  found  in  the  Book  of  Divine  Revelation 
are  here  exhibited,  while  the  doctrines  of  that  book, 
however  interesting  and  important,  have  been  left  to 
the  province  of  the  theologian. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  compiler  has  generally 
given  credit  at  the  close  of  each  chapter,  or  at  the 
end,  sometimes,  of  a  paragraph,  to  the  author  whose 
sentiments  or  language  is  employed.  In  many  cases 
the  thoughts  have  been  condensed  ;  in  others  they 
appear  in  the  exact  language  of  the  original  authors. 


PREFACE. 


Vll 


although  the  marks  of  quotation  are  generally  omitted. 
The  compiler  has  labored  to  make  the  best  text-book 
in  his  power,  with  the  best  helps  before  him,  availing 
himself  freely,  when  he  judged  best,  of  their  language 
as  well  as  their  thoughts.  This  remark  applies  only 
to  foreign  authors.  When  the  language  of  American 
authors  is  used,  the  marks  of  quotation  are  uniformly 
employed. 

To  inspire  confidence  in  the  character  of  this  work, 
and  in  its  adaptation  to  general  usefulness,  particularly 
in  academies,  if  not  also  in  colleges,  the  compiler  begs 
leave  to  append  a  list  of  the  authors  to  whom,  princi¬ 
pally,  he  has  been  indebted  for  what  appears  upon  the 
following  pages. 

Dugald  Stewart’s  Philosophy  of  the  Active  and  Moral  Powers 
of  Man.  Works,  vol.  v. 

Dr.  Abercrombie  on  the  Moral  Powers. 

Dr.  Beattie’s  Moral  Science. 

Dr.  Whewell’s  Elements  of  Morality,  2  vols. 

Dr.  Chalmers’  Natural  Theology  and  Moral  Philosophy 

Dr.  John  Dick’s  Lectures. 

Dr.  Thomas  Dick’s  Philosophy  of  Religion. 

Bishop  Wilson’s  Evidences  of  Christianity,  vol.  ii. 

Paley’s  Moral  Philosophy. 

Archbishop  Seeker  on  the  Commandments. 

Dr.  Dewar’s  Moral  Philosophy,  2  vols. 

Dymond’s  Essays  on  Morality. 

John  Angell  James’s  Help  to  Domestic  Happiness. 

John  Angell  James’s  Christian  Charity. 

Barnes  on  Slavery. 

Channing  on  Slavery. 

Wardlaw’s  Christian  Ethics. 

Winslow  on  Civil  and  Social  Duties. 

Bishop  Butler’s  Sermons  on  Human  Nature. 

Bishop  Butler’s  Analogy  of  Natural  and  Revealed  Religion. 

Dr.  Wayland’s  Moral  Science. 


-jj.;  .,.T 

,  r 


J  t. 


i  •  V  ' 


f 

*'M 


i 


-V  I, 


J.;i;  A': 

.  r-: 

rtm  - 1 

.  ..  -•  :» 

•  1.  ,  .»*'  •  ^, 

;  ,■•■  /  ■  * 

i  .  •  ■'*<■' 

* 

,1  juV/Ww  " 

■  •  •  \ 

-  *  « 

1- 

"  M  'V  ' 

■  > 

t  . 

r 

•  #  :• 

*  1  - 

:i,  .  ■  "■■■ 

'  r  : 

■  ■  ■  •,;•''/■ 

1..  v'V.  ->  ' 
•'  • ,. ' '  ' 

.  - , « -t* ; '  r 

'1.  >  -  '  - 

'  J'  -I'V  •  '■  \  '■  ■' 

»'*■  .’*.'** 

•  ■A-'-;.";- 

,/^W? 

...'i  ^^4* 


'(t  » 

-  '’•  ;•;  -"■>  - 


-  •  'i  . 


V 


-*  J 


r  »  ‘  '  r*  ' 


;  -f' 


v.  ‘'<‘V^  -w  ■;• 


f 

X-' 


,r» 


,1  ^  ^  rA 


..  l  • 


v;> 


.  ^  .  V .  ■  * 


.■,.  s  ,  r 

- .  .  t  (  .  .  .  i; 


'  •, 


■•-  •  '  -  .'fJ'T 

■ri'*”'  '  • ‘V 

.  '  ■  V  ,  '  ■  W  -  'l  J'*  •  •  •  ' 

••  “'L"’-. 


u 

.■n\-  ■ 


i  •.' 


.'  .»'  (»4. 

•  t  i 


't  ■ 


V 


K  .  • 


•/  I 


'llj 


* 

•I 


■i*: 


\ 


CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION. 

NATURE,  SOURCES,  AND  OBJECTS  OF  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY. 

BOOK  I. 

THE  BEING,  PERFECTIONS,  AND  MORAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  GOD,  MADE 
KNOWN  BY  THE  CREATION. 

« 

CHAPTER  I. 

Page 

The  Existence  of  God . 7 

CHAPTER  H. 

The  Divine  Attributes . 13 

CHAPTER  III. 

Evidences  of  Moral  Government . 20 

CHAPTER  IV. 

On  Providence . 26 

BOOK  II. 

THE  ACTIVE  AND  MORAL  POWERS  OF  MAN,  AND  REMARKS  UPON  THEIR 

DUE  REGULATION. 

CHAPTER  I. 

General  Preliminary  View  of  the  Character  and  Condition  of  Man  29 

I.  A  Rational  Being . 29 

II.  An  Immortal  Being . 30 

HI.  Free  Agency  and  Accountability  of  Man . 33 

IV.  Happiness  of  Man  in  his  Present  State . 35 

V.  State  of  Discipline  and  Probation . 35 

CHAPTER  H. 

The  Voluntary  Principle . 36 

Section  I.  This  Principle  described . 30 

“  II.  Influence  and  Office  of  Motives . 37 

“  III.  Influence  exerted  on  the  Will  by  Knowledge,  Atten¬ 
tion,  and  Moral  Habits . 40 


X 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  HI. 

Page 

The  Appetites . 47 

CHAPTER  I\^. 

The  Affections  .  .  • . 48 

Section  I.  The  Benevolent  Affections . 49 

“  II.  The  Irascible  or  Malevolent  Affections  .  .  .  51 

“  HI.  The  proper  Government  of  the  Appetites  and  Pas¬ 
sions  . 54 

“  IV.  The  Moral  Culture  of  the  Benevolent  Affections  .  56 

“  V.  Influence  exerted  upon  the  Affections  by  Attention 

and  Habit . 57 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Desires . 58 

(1.)  The  Desire  of  Safety . 59 

(2.)  The  Desire  of  Property . 60 

(3.)  The  Desire  of  Society . 60 

(4.)  The  Desire  of  Superiority  and  of  Power  ....  62 

(5.)  The  Desire  of  Knowledge . 63 

(6.)  The  Desire  of  Moral  Improvement . 65 

(7.)  The  Desire  of  Action . 65 

(8.)  The  Desire  of  Happiness,  or  Principle  of  Self-Love  .  66 

(9.)  The  Desire  of  Esteem . 66 

CHAPTER  VI. 

General  Remarks  upon  the  Active  Principles  already  considered  .  70 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Of  the  Moral  Faculty,  or  Conscience . 72 

Section  I.  Conscience  an  Original  Faculty . 72 

“  II.  Want  of  Uniformity  in  its  Decisions  ....  73 

“  III.  Conscience  implies  a  Sense  of  Obligation  ...  15 

“  IV.  Supremacy  of  Conscience . 76 

“  V.  Imperfection  of  Conscience . 80 

“  VI.  Influence  of  Reason  upon  our  Moral  Decisions  .  .  83 

BOOK  III. 

THE  PRINCIPLES  AND  RULE  OF  MORAL  ACTION  AND  OBLIGATION. 

CHAPTER  I. 

The  Distinctions  of  Right  and  Wrong,  immutable  and  eternal  .  84 

CHAPTER  H. 

Rule,  or  Law,  of  Moral  Obligation  ...  ...  87 

CHAPTER  HI. 

Origin,  or  Ultimate  Ground,  of  Moral  Rectitude  and  Obligation  .  89 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Moral  Qualities  of  Human  Action . 97 


CONTENTS. 


XI 


BOOK  IV. 

THE  RIGHTS  OF  MAN. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Pago 

Nature  of  Rights  and  Obligations . 107 

CHAPTER  II. 

Personal  Rights . Ill 

CHAPTER  HI. 

Rights  of  Government . 116 

BOOK  V. 

RELATIVE  IMPORTANCE  OF  NATURAL  AND  REVEALED  MORALITY. 

CHAPTER  I. 

Insufficiency  of  the  Morality  derived  from  the  Light  of  Nature  .  119 

CHAPTER  H. 

Superior  Excellence  of  the  Morality  taught  in  the  Sacred  Scrip¬ 
tures  . 120 

CHAPTER  III. 

The  Manner  in  which  our  Duty  is  taught  in  the  Scriptures  .  .  124 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Sanctions  by  which  the  Morals  of  Revelation  are  ultimately 

enforced . 128 

CHAPTER  V. 

Identity  of  Morality  and  Religion . 129 

BOOK  VI. 

OF  THE  VARIOUS  BRANCHES  OF  HUMAN  DUTY. 

PART  I. 

Of  the  Duties  which  respect  Ourselves . 133 

CHAPTER  I. 

Duty  of  Intellectual  Cultivation  and  Control . 134 

CHAPTER  H. 

Duty  of  Moral  Progress,  and  Reformation . 137 


XU 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Pajo 

Duty  of  Temperance,  or  Self-Government . Ml 

CHAPTER  IV, 

Duty  of  Fortitude . 142 

CHAPTER  V, 

Duty  of  the  Formation  of  Good  Habits . 142 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Duty  of  Prudence,  or  a  suitable  Regard  to  our  own  Happiness  .  14.3 

Section  I.  Nature  of  the  Duty  of  Prudence,  and  Manner  of  Per¬ 
forming  it . 143 

“  II.  Systems  of  Grecian  Schools  in  relation  to  Happiness  145 

“  III.  Influence  of  Temper  upon  Happiness  .  .  .  147 

“  IV.  Influence  of  Imagination  upon  Happiness  .  .  .  149 

“  V.  Influence  of  Opinions  upon  Happiness  .  .  .  151 

“  VI.  Influence  of  Habits  upon  Happiness  ....  154 

“  VII.  Comparison  of  different  Classes  of  Enjoyments  .  155 

“  VIII.  Injustice  to  Providence  in  computing  our  Pleasures 

and  Pains . 159 


BOOK  VI.— Part  II. 

OF  THE  DUTIES  WHICH  RESPECT  OTHER  BEINGS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

The  Two  Great  Laws  of  Revealed  Morality . 161 

Section  I.  Love  to  God . 161 

“  II.  Love  to  our  Neighbor . 167 

“  III.  Law  of  Reciprocity ;  or,  the  Golden  Rule  .  .  .  171 

“  IV.  Love  to  our  Neighbor,  distinguished  from  a  spurious 

Philanthropy  .  .  . 174 


CHAPTER  II. 


The  Apostle  Paul’s  Description  of  Love  to  our  Neighbor  .  .  174 

Section  I.  The  Meekness  of  Love . 175 

“  II.  The  Kindness  of  Love . 179 

“  III.  The  Contentment  of  Love . 180 

“  IV.  The  Humility  of  Love . 181 

“  V.  The  Decorum  of  Love . 182 

“  VI.  The  Disinterestedness  of  Love  ,  .  .  .  .  184 

“  VII.  The  Unsuspiciousness  of  Love . 186 

“  VHI.  The  Joy  of  Love . 188 

“  IX.  The  Candor  of  Love . •  .  188 

“  X.  The  Self-Denial  of  Love  .  .  ,  •  .192 


CHAPTER  III. 

Love  to  Man  viewed  under  certain  general  Relations  .  .  .  194 


CONTENTS. 


XUl 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Pago 

The  Ten  Revealed  Precepts  of  Human  Duty . 198 

Section  I.  Circumstances  in  which  the  Moral  Law  was  deliver¬ 
ed  at  Mount  Sinai . 199 

“  II.  Rules  for  the  right  Interpretation  of  the  Ten  Com¬ 
mandments  . 201 

“  III.  Perfection  of  the  Moral  Law  delivered  at  Sinai  ,  203 

“  IV.  Obligation  and  Perpetuity  of  the  Moral  Law  .  .  211 

“  V.  Exposition  of  the  Moral  Law.  Preliminary  Remarks  212 

FIRST  TABLE  OF  THE  LAW. 

THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT. 

I.  The  Prohibitions  involved . 213 

(1.)  Atheism,  Explicit,  Constructive,  and  Practical  .  .  213 

(2.)  Polytheism  of  Heathen  Lands . 214 

(3.)  Polytheism  of  Christian  Lands . 218 

(4.)  Worship  of  Saints  and  Angels . 220 

II.  Requirements  involved  in  this  Precept . 221 

THE  SECOND  COMMANDMENT. 

I.  The  Prohibitions . 223 

II.  The  Requirements . 227 

III.  Particular  Sanction  of  this  Precept . 228 

THE  THIRD  COMMANDMENT. 

I.  The  Nature  and  Lawfulness  of  Oaths . 230 

Manner  of  Administering  and  Taking  an  Oath  .  .  .  232 

II.  Prohibitions . 233 

(a.)  Perjury . 233 

(b.)  Other  Methods  of  Violating  this  Precept  with  respect 

to  Swearing  under  Oath . 235 

(c.)  Needless  Swearing,  embracing  (1.)  rash  and  inconsider¬ 
ate  Vows  ;  (2.)  Oaths  in  common  Discourse,  or  Pro¬ 
fane  Swearing . 235 

(d.)  Imprecations,  or  Curses . 238 

(e.)  Other  Offenses  against  the  Spirit  of  this  Precept — the 
Profanation  or  Abuse  of  those  Things  by  which  God 

has  made  himself  known . 238 

(/.)  Irreverent  Treatment  of  Christianity  by  its  Opposers  .  238 

III.  Beneficial  Effects  of  Observing  the  Third  Precept  .  .  .  243 

THE  FOURTH  COMMANDMENT. 

I.  Its  Nature  and  Importance . 244 

II.  Origin  and  Date  of  the  Sabbatical  Institution  .  .  .  245 

III.  Universal  Obligation  of  the  Law  of  the  Sabbath  .  .  .  247 

IV.  Objections  considered . 248 

V.  Change  of  the  Sabbath  from  the  Seventh  to  the  First  Day  of 

the  Week . 251 

VI.  Manner  of  Observing  the  Sabbath . 252 

VII.  Classes  particularly  addressed  in  the  Fourth  Commandment  259 

VIII.  Consequences  of  a  Universal  Violation  of  this  Precept  .  261 

IX.  Duty  and  Efficacy  of  Prayer . 262 

X.  Objections  to  the  Duty  of  Prayer . 263 

XI.  What  Prayers  are  acceptable . 268 

XII.  Duty  of  supporting  and  encouraging  Public  Worship  .  .  269 


XIV 


CONTENTS. 


SECOND  TABLE  OF  THE  LAW. 

THE  FIFTH  COMMANDMENT. 

Pa^e 

I.  General  Design  of  this  Precept . 271 

II.  Duties  of  Children  to  Parents . 272 

Duty  of  Honor  to  Parents . 272 

Duty  of  Love  to  Parents . 272 

Duty  of  Reverence  to  Parents . 273 

Duty  with  respect  to  Regulations  of  the  Family  .  .  273 
Duty  in  relation  to  Misconduct  of  Parents  .  .  .  274 

Duty  of  Kindness,  illustrated . 275 

Duty  of  Obedience . 277 

Duty  of  Submission  to  Discipline . 278 

Motives  to  Performance  of  Filial  Duties  ....  278 

III.  Duties  of  Parents  to  their  Children . 280 

General  View  of  them . 280 

Prerequisites  to  the  proper  Discharge  of  Parental  Duty  .  281 

Duty  of  Maintenance . 282 

Duty  of  Scholastic  Instruction . 282 

Duty  of  Regard  to  Health . 283 

Duty  of  Educating  them  to  right  Sentiments  and  Habits  .  283 

Duties  in  relation  to  Religious  Character  and  Future  Wel¬ 
fare  . 285 

Duty  of  Family  Prayer . 289 

IV.  Duties  of  Instructors  and  Scholars . 290 

V.  Duties  of  Masters,  or  Employers,  to  their  Family  Servants  .  292 

Duty  of  Justice  to  Servants . 293 

Duty  of  Kindness  to  Servants . 293 

Duty  of  Religion  to  Servants . 294 

VI.  Duties  of  Family  Servants  to  their  Employers  .  .  .  295 

VII.  Duties  of  Magistrates  and  Subjects ;  or,  of  OfScers  of  Gov¬ 

ernment  and  Citizens . 296 

(a.)  Preliminary  Discussion . 296 

Nature  and  proper  Authority  of  Civil  Government  .  296 

Submission  to  its  Authority — how  far  this  Duty  ex¬ 
tends  . 297 

How  far  Government  has  a  Right  to  interfere  in  Mat¬ 
ters  of  Religion . 298 

(b.)  Duties  of  Rulers  in  view  of  these  Preliminary  Discus¬ 
sions  . 300 

(c.)  Correlative  Duties  of  Subjects,  or  Citizens  .  .  .  301 

(1.)  Obedience,  Respect,  and  Support  .  .  .  301 

(2.)  Duty  at  the  Ballot-Box . 303 

(3.)  Critical  Circumstances  of  our  Country  .  .  304 

(4.)  Particular  Duties  connected  with  the  Support  of 

Government  and  Order . 305 

(5.)  Prayer  for  Rulers . 305 

(6.)  Prayer  for  Fellow-Citizens . 305 

VIII.  Duties  of  Patriotism . 306 

IX.  Duties  of  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  of  the  People  of  their 

Charge . 308 

X.  Duties  connected  with  the  various  Stages  of  Human  Life  .  309 

(a.)  Duties  of  the  Young . 309 

(6.)  Duties  of  the  Middle-Aged . 310 

(c.)  Duties  of  the  Aged . 311 

XI.  Effects  of  the  Universal  Violation  of  the  Fifth  Precept  .  .  312 


CONTENTS.  XV 

THE  SIXTH  COMxHANDMENT. 

Paga 

I.  The  Killing  of  Animals . 315 

II.  Capital  Punishment . 316 

III.  Taking  of  Life  in  Self-Defense . 319 

IV.  Wars . 320 

V.  Suicide . 326 

VI.  Dueling . 327 

VII.  Other  Prohibitions  of  this  Precept . 328 

Vin.  Drunkenness . 331 

IX.  Duties  involved  in  the  Sixth  Precept . 334 

X.  Consequences  of  a  Universal  Violation  of  it  .  .  .  .  334 

THE  SEVENTH  COMMANDMENT. 

I.  Design  and  Extent  of  this  Precept . 336 

II.  Marriage . 338 

III.  Duties  of  the  Married  State . 340 

IV.  Benefits  of  the  Marriage  Institution . 344 

V.  Subjects  collateral  to  Marriage . 345 

(a.)  Polygamy . 345 

(6.)  Divorce . 346 

VI.  Counsels  to  aid  in  keeping  this  Commandment  .  .  ,  349 

VII.  Tendency  of  a  Universal  Violation  of  it . 350 

THE  EIGHTH  COMMANDMENT. 

I.  General  Design  of  this  Commandment . 352 

II.  Right  of  Property . 353 

III.  Nature  of  the  Act  prohibited . 353 

IV.  Various  Classes  of  Theft  prohibited . 354 

V.  American  Slavery . 364 

Reasons  for  considering  Slavery  as  a  Breach  of  this  Precept  364 
A  prominent  Defense  of  Slavery  overthrown  .  .  .  366 

Slavery  violates  not  only  the  Eighth  Commandment,  but 

other  Portions  of  Scripture . 367 

Morally  wrong  to  hold  Slaves,  though  by  Inheritance  .  .  368 

Method  of  palliating  the  Practice  of  holding  Men  as  Prop¬ 
erty  . 369 

Scripture  Argument  against  Slavery . 370 

Why  Slaveholding  is  not  Condemned  in  express  Terms  in 

Scripture . 371 

Circumstances  in  which  the  Relation  of  a  Slaveholder  may 

not  be  Sinful . 373 

Duty  of  Masters  to  Slaves . 374 

Duty  of  Slaves  to  Masters . 375 

VI.  Duties  implied  in  the  Eighth  Commandment  ....  376 

VII.  Benefits  to  Society  from  its  Universal  Observance  .  .  .  377 

THE  NINTH  COMMANDMENT.' 

I.  Nature  and  Extent  of  the  Prohibition  ,  ,  379 

(a.)  False  Testimony  in  Courts  of  Justice  ....  379 

(6.)  Slander . 381 

II.  Design  and  Importance  of  the  Ninth  Commandment  .  .  382 

III.  Falsehood — various  Kinds . 384 

IV.  Nature  and  Obligation  of  a  Promise  .  .  .  .  .  .  394 

V.  Effects  of  a  Universal  Observance  of  the  Ninth  Commandment  397 


XVI 


CONTENTS. 


THE  TENTH  COMMANDMENT. 

PflgO 

I.  Meaning  of  the  word  “  Covet” . 399 

II.  Design  of  the  Precept . 399 

III.  Law  of  the  Desires . 400 

IV.  Forms  of  Covetousness,  or  Irregular  Desire  ....  402 

1.  Avarice . 402 

2.  Ambition . 404 

V.  The  Opposite  of  Covetousness,  Contentment  ....  405 

CHAPTER  V 

Moral  Lessons  of  Biography . 407 

Moral  Duty  learned  from  the  Character  of  Jesus  Christ  .  .  .  409 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Tendency  of  Revelation  to  promote  Human  Happiness  .  .  .  420 


MORAL  PHILOSOPHY. 


INTRODUCTION. 

NATURE,  SOURCES,  AND  OBJECTS  OF  MORAL 
PHILOSOPHY. 

1.  Dr.  Wayland  defines  Moral  Philosophy  to  be  the 
science  of  Moral  Law. 

Dr.  Paley  describes  it  as  that  science  which  teaches  men 
their  duty,  and  the  reasons  of  it. 

Dr.  Spring  represents  it  to  be  the  science  which  treats 
of  the  nature  of  human  actions,  of  the  motives  and  laws 
which  govern  them,  and  of  the  ends  to  which  they  ought  to 
he  directed. 

2.  As  a  science,  Moral  Philosophy  must  be  founded 
upon  just  views  of  our  moral  constitution,  and  of  the 
various  relations  which  we  sustain  toward  other  beings 
and  things. 

3.  While  to  some  extent  the  study  of  man  and  his  rela¬ 
tions  may  enable  a  philosopher  to  construct  an  accurate 
system  of  morals,  all  experience  has  shown  that  no  phi¬ 
losopher  has  adequately  succeeded,  without  resorting  for 
aid  to  the  perfect  system  of  duty  contained  in  the  holy 
scriptures. 

If,  therefore,  our  object  be,  not  to  test  the  ingenuity  and 
superiority  of  human  reason,  but  to  supply  ourselves  with 
a  correct,  explicit,  comprehensive,  and  reliable  exposition 
of  human  duty,  also  with  the  reasons  upon  which  it  is 
founded,  and  the  highest  motives  for  its  performance,  we 
should  apply  ourselves  not  to  the  researches  of  human 
reason  only,  but  to  those  infallible  instructions  which  our 
benevolent  Creator  has  kindly  furnished,  in  condescen¬ 
sion  to  our  ignorance,  perverseness,  and  errors.  Indeed, 
it  is  too  late  in  the  day  for  educated  men  in  Christian 
lands,  to  be  able  to  ascertain  how  far  the  unassisted 
faculties  of  man  can  go,  in  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the 

A 


2  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY  AND  CHRISTIANITY  INSEPARABLE. 

foundation  and  the  rules  of  moral  action ;  for  the  promi¬ 
nent  principles  of  Christian  morality  are  so  interwoven 
into  the  opinions,  intercourse,  and  practices  of  modeiii 
civilized  society,  and  so  familiar  to  the  mind  of  every 
man  educated  in  a  Christian  land,  that  it  is  impossible  to 
eradicate  the  ideas  of  them  from  the  mind,  when  it 
attempts  to  trace  the  duty  of  man  solely  on  the  principles 
of  reason. 

When  the  true  principles  of  morality  are  once  commu¬ 
nicated  and  understood  through  the  medium  of  revela¬ 
tion,  reason  can  demonstrate  their  utility  and  their  con¬ 
formity  to  the  character  of  God,  to  the  oi’der  of  the  uni¬ 
verse,  and  to  the  relations  which  subsist  among  intel¬ 
ligent  agents.  But  we  are  by  no  means  in  a  situation 
to  determine  whether  they  could  ever  have  been  dis¬ 
covered  and  clearly  established  by  the  investigations  of 
the  unassisted  powers  of  the  human  mind.  This  point  will 
come  under  review  again,  and  be  more  fully  discussed. 

4.  Moral  philosophers  have  justly  been  described  by 
Foster,  as  for  the  most  part  seeming  anxious  to  avoid 
everything  that  might  subject  them  to  the  appellation  of 
Christian  divines.  They  have  regarded  their  department 
as  a  science  complete  in  itself;  and  they  investigate  the 
foundation  of  morality,  define  its  laws,  and  affix  its  sanc¬ 
tions,  in  n.  manner  generally  so  distinct  from  Christianity, 
that  the  reader  would  almost  conclude  that  religion  to  be 
another  science  complete  in  itself. 

5.  An  entire  separation  of  Moral  Philosophy  from 
Christianity  it  is  hardly  possible  to  maintain  ;  since  the 
latter  has  decided  some  moral  questions  on  which  reason 
was  dubious  or  silent ;  and  since  that  final  retribution 
which  the  New  Testament  has  so  luminously  foreshown, 
is  evidently  the  gi-eatest  of  sanctions.  To  make  no  refer¬ 
ence,  while  inculcating  moral  principles,  to  a  judgment  to 
come,  on  what  has  been  confessed  to  be  divine  authority, 
W'ould  look  like  systematic  irreligion.  But  still  it  is  stinking 
to-  observe  how  small  a  portion  of  the  ideas  which  distin¬ 
guish  the  New  Testament  from  other  books  many  moral 
philosophers  have  thought  indispensable  to  a  theory  in 
which  they  professed  to  include  the  sum  of  the  duty  and 
interests  of  man.  A  serious  reader  is  constrained  to  feel 
either  that  there  is  too  much  in  that  book,  or  too  little  in 
theirs.  On  the  whole  it  must  be  concluded  that  there 


MORAL  CODE  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


3 


cannot  but  be  something  very  defective  in  the  theory  of 
morality  which  but  slightly  acknowledges  the  religion  of 
Christ,  and  takes  so  little  of  its  peculiar  cnaracter. 

[Foster’s  Essays.] 

6.  The  general  path  of  duty  has  been  made  plain,  in 
the  Bible,  to  every  one  who  is  inclined  to  walk  in  it ;  and 
whoever  wishes  to  be  assisted  and  directed  in  his  prog¬ 
ress  toward  moral  perfection  will  find,  in  the  precepts  of 
Moses,  the  proverbs  of  Solomon,  the  discourses  of  J  esus 
Christ,  and  the  practical  parts  of  the  apostolic  epistles, 
maxims  and  precepts  and  motives  inculcated  infinitely 
superior,  in  regard  both  to  their  authority  and  their  ex¬ 
cellence,  to  those  of  all  other  systems  of  moral  philoso¬ 
phy,  whether  ancient  or  modern.  There  is  a  simplicity,  a 
warmth,  a  soul-stirring  energy  in  the  precepts  of  Scripture 
which  is  adapted  to  interest,  and  control,  and  benefit  the 
mind,  to  a  degree  far  beyond  what  is  met  wdth  in  the 
works  of  moralists,  from  which  have  been  excluded  as  far 
as  possible  the  light  and  power  of  the  Scriptures. 

7.  A  laborious  effoit  to  discover  moral  rules,  by  research 

into  the  moral  constitution  of  man,  could  it  be  fully  suc¬ 
cessful,  which  it  cannot,  is  no  longer  needed ;  since  we 
have  a  code  of  moral  law  established  by  divine  authority, 
and  therefore  adapted  to  the  nature  and  relations  ^f  men, 
— the  very  code,  consequently,  which  would  be  deduced 
from  a  complete  and  perfectly  accurate  analysis  of  human 
nature,  if  the  philosopher  could  be  found,  competent  to 
make  it.  [Dick’s  Philosophy  of  Religion.] 

There  is  also  a  great  advantage,  in  respect  to  moral 
effect,  to  employ  the  precepts  of  a  moral  code  that  is  recog¬ 
nized  as  supremely  authoritative  and  obviously  infallible. 

Accordingly  it  is  well  remarked  by  some  writer  in  a 
recent  number  of  the  Princeton  Review,  that  it  seems  to 
be  little  better  than  waste  of  time  and  labor  to  analyze 
the  moral  nature  of  man  for  the  purpose  of  deriving  from 
that  nature  the  laws  by  which  it  should  be  governed,  or, 
in  other  words,  a  natural  morality,  when  we  have  a  moral 
code  resting  upon  divine  authority,  embracing  everything 
that  pertains  to  practical  ethics,  pointing  out  as  well  the 
proper  motive  of  action  as  the  proper  rule.  Favored  as 
we  are  with  “  the  law  of  the  Lord  which  is  perfect,”  what 
possible  reason  can  we  have  for  endeavoring  (according 
to  an  article  in  the  Encyc.  Brit.)  to  determine  what  man’s 


4 


OBJECTS  OF  MORAL  SCIENCE. 


business  is,  or  what  conduct  he  is  obliged  to  pursue,  by 
inspecting  hrs  constitution,  taking  every  part  to  pieces, 
examining-  their  mutual  relations  one  to  the  other,  and  the 
common  effect  or  tendency  of  the  whole  ] 

8.  In  the  words  of  the  reviewer,  just  referred  to,  ilie 
2n'opcr  business  of  Moral  Philosophy,  is  not  to  discover 
Laws,  but  adaptations;  not  to  find  out  rules  of  conduct, 
but  to  show  the  perfect  fitness  which  exists  between  those 
moral  la-vv's  which  God  has  enacted  and  that  moral  nature 
which  He  has  given  to  man,  the  subject  of  those  Laws. 

The  advantage  of  this  will  consist  in  causing  us  the 
more  highly  to  appreciate  the  rules  of  duty  laid  down  in 
the  sacred  scriptures,  and  to  feel  deeply  our  obligation 
to  yield  them  a  cordial  and  constant  regard. 

9.  A  system  derived,  in  a  good  measure,  from  the  sacred 
scriptures,  is  not  needless,  as  may  erroneously  have  been 
inferred  from  some  of  the  preceding  remarks,  but  is  re¬ 
quired  for  several  purposes. 

It  classifies  the  rules  that  are  dispersed  through  the 
sacred  volume,  and  condenses  the  light  which  is  there 
scattered  :  it  expounds  general  precepts,  and  traces  them 
out  in  all  their  prominent  bearings  and  ramifications  :  it 
applies  the  principles  of  Moral  Law  to  particular  circum¬ 
stances  in  private  or  public  life  :  it  exposes  the  mistakes 
into  which  men  have  fallen,  and  sets  forth  the  various  ob¬ 
jects  to  which  duty  requires  their  attention  to  be  directed. 

We  trust  it  will  appear  on  the  study  of  this  work,  that 
some  valuable  purposes  have  been  answered  in  its  prepa¬ 
ration. 

10.  It  is  desirable  that  a  work  on  moral  science  should 
be  constructed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  move,  while  it  in¬ 
structs  ;  to  interest  in  the  practice,  while  it  furnishes  the 
knowledge,  of  duty ;  and  that  it  should  enter  into  the 
detail  of  duties  in  all  the  relations  and  more  prominent 
circumstances  in  which  the  student  can  be  placed,  and 
not  deal,  as  most  systems  do,  in  generalities  which  exert 
no  practical  moral  influence.  Illustrative  examples  are 
useful  also,  in  securing  the  proper  influence  of  the  study 
of  morals. 

This  study  should  be  directed,  not  primarily,  as  it  too 
frequently  has  been,  to  the  sharpening  and  invigorating  of 
the  intellectual  powers,  in  teaching  us  to  make  accurate 
analysis  and  subtle  distinctions ;  but  its  particular  aim 


METHOD  ADOPTED. 


5 


should  be,  to  cultivate,  as  well  as  to  expand  the  moral 
powers — to  make  the  student  moral,  as  well  as  to  teach 
him  what  morality  is. 

11.  Authors  have  pursued  various  methods :  that  which 
has  been  adopted  in  this  work,  seems  to  be  natural,  and 
adapted  to  the  ends  specified  above. 

I.  As  Ethics  cannot  be  properly  understood  without 
some  knowledge  of  Natural  Religion,  that  is,  without 
some  knowledge  of  the  character,  providence,  and  govern¬ 
ment  of  God,  the  first  Book  is  occupied  with  a  brief  ex¬ 
position  of  these  topics. 

II.  Having  examined  these  topics — the  grand  basis  of 
all  sound  morality — it  has  been  judged  useful  to  take  in 
the  next  place  a  cursory  survey  of  the  Active  and  Moral 
Powers,  and  of  the  moral  condition  of  man. 

III.  The  principles  and  rules  of  Moral  Action  and 
Obligation  are  next  considered. 

IV.  The  Rights  of  Man  growing  out  of  the  relations 
of  human  society. 

V.  The  relative  importance  of  Natural  and  Revealed 
Morality. 

VI.  The  various  branches  of  Human  Duty.  This  Book 
will  embrace  (1.)  a  consideration  of  xhe  Duties  which  respect 
ourselves,  and  which  may  be  learned  in  a  great  measure 
from  an  investigation  of  our  Active  and  Moral  Powers. 

(2.)  It  defines  the  Duty  of  Man,  chiefly  toward  other 
beings,  as  it  may  be  learned,  from  the  tw'o  fundamen¬ 
tal  Laws  of  Love  to  God,  and  to  our  Neighbor;  from 
the  Law  delivered  by  our  Savior — “All  things  whatso¬ 
ever  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so 
to  them from  St.  Paul’s  description  of  love  to  our 
neighbor ;  from  a  view  of  man  under  certain  general  re¬ 
lations ;  from  the  Ten  Commandments;  and  from  the 
biography  of  Christ  and  of  his  followers. 

12.  Compared  with  other  branches  of  an  academic  or 
collegiate  course.  Moral  Philosophy  deserves  to  take  pre¬ 
cedence  of  all  others ;  and  yet,  especially  in  academies 
and  common  schools,  it  is  of  all  others  most  neglected,  or 
imperfectly  taught. 

It  must  be  conceded  that  our  happiness  is  more  closely 
connected  with  a  correct  knowledge  and  faithful  perform¬ 
ance  of  our  various  duties,  than  with  the  highest  attain¬ 
ments  in  literature  or  science  apart  from  this  :  it  will  also 


6 


IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  STUDY. 


be  conceded  that  the  young,  of  all  others,  stand  most  in 
need  of  being  made  familiar  with  the  rightful  claims  of 
other  beings,  and  of  their  own  moral  nature  :  it  will  also 
be  conceded  that  the  highest  interests  of  society  are  de¬ 
pendent  on  the  proper  moral  culture  and  behavior  of  those 
who  are  in  a  course  of  school  education  :  it  will  also  be 
granted,  that  Moral  Philosophy,  to  be  w'ell  understood, 
deeply  felt,  and  regularly  practiced,  must  be  carefully 
studied  and  inculcated  in  seminaries  of  instruction,  even 
though  for  the  sake  of  this,  some  other  branch  of  learning 
be  neglected,  or  receive  less  than  the  usual  share  of  the 
student’s  and  instructor’s  time. 

In  fact,  to  know,  to  love,  and  to  'perform  our  duties,  in 
the  various  relations  w'e  sustain,  is  the  highest  end  and 
attainment  of  man.  The  proper  means  therefore  should 
be  provided  and  employed  for  this  purpose. 

1.  What  are  some  of  the  definitions  of  Moral  Philosophy  that  have  been 
given  by  popular  writers  upon  that  science  ? 

2.  What  is  the  proper  basis  of  this  science? 

3.  Is  reason  capable  of  itself  to  derive,  simply  from  the  study  of  human 
nature  and  society,  a  correct  and  ample  system  of  morals? 

4.  What  course  have  moral  philosophers  generally  pursued? 

5.  Is  it  wise  or  expedient,  at  this  day,  and  in  this  Christian  country,  to 
attempt  to  separate  Moral  Philosophy  from  Christianity  ? 

C.  In  order  to  acquire  a  practical  knowledge  of  our  duty,  and  of  the 
proper  motives  to  its  performance,  is  it  necessary  to  study  voluminous 
systems  of  ethical  science  ? 

7.  What  then  may  be  said  of  the  philosophy  which  aims  to  discover 
moral  rules  simply  by  elaborate  research  into  the  moral  constitution  of 
man  ? 

8.  W'hat  then  is  the  proper  business  of  Moral  Philosophy? 

9.  What  further  advantage  may  be  derived  from  a  system  of  Moral  Phi¬ 
losophy  that  is  derived,  in  a  good  measure,  from  the  sacred  scriptures? 

10.  In  a  work  upon  Moral  Science,  is  it  proper  to  aim  at  nothing  more 
than  an  exhibition  simply  of  the  relations  and  duties  of  life  ? 

11.  Method  adopted  in  the  treatment  of  the  science,  in  this  volume? 

12.  What  importance  deserves  to  be  attached  to  the  study  of  Moral 
Philosophy  ? 


Note.  In  teaching  the  following  work,  it  may  be  expedient  to 
allow  scholars  of  undisciplined  mind,  to  omit  the  study  of  the  first 
four  Books,  until  they  shall  have  become  familiar  witli  the  following 
Books. 

The  questions  at  the  end  of  each  section  may  be  neglected  or  used, 
according  to  the  ability  or  incompetency  of  the  scholar  to  study  the 
work  thoroughly  without  them;  and  according  to  the  judgment  and 
taste  of  the  instructor.  They  are  of  such  a  nature  generally',  as  not 
to  supersede  the  necessity  of  close  application  on  the  part  of  students 
that  may  use  them ;  and  by  a  large  number  of  teachers  they  may  bo 
found  to  diminish  the  labor  of  instruction,  and  to  render  it  effective. 


ABSURDITY  OP  ATHEISM. 


7 


BOOK  1. 

THE  BEING,  PERFECTIONS,  AND  MORAL  GOVERNMENT 
OF  GOD,  MADE  KNOWN  BY  THE  CREATION. 


CHAPTER  1. 

THE  EXISTENCE  OF  GOD. 

13.  Natural  Theology  explains  what  human  reason  can 
discover  or  prove,  concerning  the  being  and  attributes  of 
God.  In  respect  of  certainty  it  is  equal  to  any  science, 
for  its  proofs  rise  to  demonstration.  In  point  of  dignity 
it  is  superior  to  all  others,  its  object  being  the  Creator  of 
the  universe.  Its  utility  is  so  great,  that  it  lays  the  only 
sure  foundation  of  human  society  and  human  happiness. 

14.  The  proofs  of  the  divine  existence  are  innumer¬ 
able,  and  continually  force  themselves  upon  our  observa¬ 
tion  ;  and  are  withal  so  clear  and  striking,  that  nothing 
but  the  most  obstinate  prejudice  and  extreme  depravity  of 
heart  and  understanding  could  ever  bring  any  rational 
being  to  disbelieve  or  doubt  of  it. 

15.  To  say  there  is  a  God,  we  have  only  to  see  the 
impress  of  his  being  and  attributes  ;  but  (says  Dr.  Chal¬ 
mers),  to  be  able  to  say  with  “  the  fool  ”  there  is  no  God, 
we  must  have  roamed,  over  all  nature,  and  seen  that  no 
mark  of  a  divine  footstep  was  there  ;  we  must  have 
searched  into  the  records  not  of  one  planet  only,  but  of 
all  worlds,  and  thence  gathered  that  throughout  the  wide 
realms  of  immensity,  not  one  exhibition  of  a  living  and 
reigning  God  has  ever  been  made.  For  man  not  to  know 
of  a  God  he  has  only  to  sink  beneath  the  level  of  our 
common  nature,  but  to  deny  him  he  must  be  a  God 
himself. 

Upon  this  point,  Foster  also  has  well  observed  : — “  The 
wonder  turns  on  the  great  process  by  which  a  man  could 
grov/  to  the  immense  intelligence  that  can  know  that 
there  is  no  God.  This  intelligence  involves  the  very  at- 


8 


NECESSITY  OF  A  FIRST  CAUSE. 


tributes  of  Divinity  while  a  C4od  is  denied — omnipresence 
and  omniscience.” 

Atheism  in  its  tendency  is  utterly  subversive  of  morals, 
and  consequently  of  happiness.  They  therefore,  who 
teach  atheistical  doctrines,  or  who  endeavor  to  make  men 
doubtful  in  regard  to  this  great  and  glorious  truth,  the 
BEING  OF  God,  do  everything  in  their  power  to  overturn 
government,  to  unhinge  society,  to  eradicate  virtue,  to 
destroy  happiness. 

When  we  profess  to  demonstrate  the  existence  of  God, 
we  speak  of  a  being,  underived,  independent,  immutable, 
and  possessed  of  every  possible  perfection.  If  one  or 
more  perfections  were  wanting,  we  might  conceive 
another  being  who  possessed  them  all,  and  that  other 
would  be  God. 

16.  The  FIRST  argument  we  shall  adduce  in  proof  of 
the  divine  existence,  consists  of  an  inference  from  the 
present  existence  of  ourselves,  and  of  ike  other  parts  of 
the  universe,  and  may  thus  be  stated :  “  Since  something 
exists  now,  something  must  have  existed  from  eternity.” 

We  are  assured  of  our  own  existence  by  consciousness, 
and  of  the  existence  of  other  beings  by  the  evidence  of 
our  senses,  to  which  we  give  implicit  credit  by  the  law  of 
our  nature,  without  paying  the  least  regard  to  the  attempts 
of  skeptical  philosophers  to  invalidate  their  testimony. 

Hence  we  infer  that  something  must  always  have 
existed :  for  if  ever  there  was  a  time  when  nothing 
existed,  there  must  have  been  a  time  when  something 
began  to  be ;  and  that  something  must  have  come  into 
being  without  a  cause ;  since,  by  the  supposition,  there 
was  nothing  before  it.  But  that  a  thing  should  begin  to 
exist,  and  yet  proceed  from  no  cause,  is  both  absurd  and 
inconceivable ;  all  men,  by  the  law  of  their  nature,  being 
necessai'ily  determined  to  believe  that  whatever  begins  to 
exist  proceeds  from  some  cause.  Beings  could  not  make 
themselves,  for  this  would  suppose  them  to  have  existed 
before  they  existed  ;  and  they  could  not  have  sprung  up 
by  chance,  for  chance  signifies  no  cause  of  any  kind,  and 
is  merely  a  word  expressing  our  ignorance  of  the  cause. 
Therefore  some  being  must  have  existed  from  eternity. 

This  being  must  have  been  either  dependent  on  some¬ 
thing  else,  or  not  dependent  on  anything  else.  Now  an 
eternal  succession  of  dependent  beings,  or  a  being  which 


THE  UNIVERSE  NOT  ETERNAL. 


9 


is  dependent  and  yet  exists  from  eternity,  is  impossible. 
For  if  every  part  of  such  a  succession  be  dependent,  then 
the  whole  must  be  so ;  and,  if  the  whole  be  dependent, 
there  must  be  something  on  which  it  depends  ;  and  that 
something  must  be  prior  in  time  to  that  which  depends 
on  it,  which  is  impossible  if  that  which  is  dependent  be 
from  eternity.  It  follows  that  there  must  be  an  eternal 
and  independent  being  on  whom  all  other  beings  depend. 

17.  The  atheist,  being  compelled  to  concede  that  some¬ 
thing  has  existed  from  eternity,  tells  us  that  that  some¬ 
thing  is  the  universe  itself ;  that  Nature  is  undei'ived  and 
self-existent.  He  has  no  objection  to  an  eternal  being, 
if  that  being  is  not  understood  to  be  endowed  with  intel¬ 
ligence  and  power,  and  above  all,  to  be  possessed  of  such 
moral  perfections  as  justice  and  purity,  the  thought  of 
which  would  lay  a  restraint  upon  his  conduct,  and  create 
the  disquieting  apprehension  of  a  future  reckoning. 

18.  With  respect  to  the  hypothesis  that  the  universe  is 
an  eternal  existence  ; — the  human  race  is  an  important 
part  of  the  universe,  which,  according  to  this  hypothesis, 
has  always  existed  by  an  eternal  succession.  Of  the 
individuals  who  compose  this  succession,  not  one  is  self- 
existent,  but  each  is  derived  from  his  immediate  prede¬ 
cessors.  Here  then  is  a  series  or  succession,  every  part 
of  which  had  a  beginning  ;  and  we  ask,  how  could  a  suc¬ 
cession  be  eternal,  although  all  its  parts  had  a  beginning? 
How  could  all  the  parts  have  a  beginning,  and  yet  the 
whole  be  without  beginning?  It  involves  an  express 
contradiction. 

The  same  reasoning  may  be  applied  to  the  other  parts 
of  the  universe.  The  various  races  of  animals  and  vege¬ 
tables  ;  the  diurnal  motion  of  the  earth  ;  the  revolutions 
of  the  heavenly  bodies  ;  and  in  a  word,  all  things,  the 
duration  of  which  is  measured  by  hours  and  days  and 
years,  must  have  had  a  beginning. 

19.  When  atheists  affirm  that  the  universe  proceeds 
from  chance,  they  must  mean,  either  that  the  universe  has 
no  cause  at  all,  or  that  its  cause  did  not  act  intelligently 
or  with  design,  in  the  production  of  it.  That  the  universe 
proceeds  from  no  cause,  we  have  seen  to  be  absurd,  and 
therefore  we  shall  overturn  all  the  atheistical  notions  con¬ 
cerning  chance,  if  we  can  show,  what  indeed  is  easily 
shown,  and  what  no  considerate  person  can  be  ignorant 


10 


ARGUMENT  FROM  DESIGN. 


of,  that  the  cause  of  the  universe  is  intelligent  and  wise, 
and  in  creating  it  must  have  acted  with  intelligence  and 
wisdom. 

20.  The  SECOND  argument  for  the  existence  of  Deity, 
is  founded  on  the  proofs  of  design  in  the  universe,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  obvious  dictate  of  reason,  that  where  design 
appears  there  must  he  a  designer  ;  where  there  is  a  plan 
there  must  he  a  mind  in  which  it  was  conceived.  The 
adaptation  of  means  to  an  end  presupposes  a  being  who 
had  the  end  in  view,  and  perceived  the  fitness  of  the 
means.  The  universe  is  full  of  designs.  They  are  visible 
in  its  general  frame,  and  in  its  particular  parts. 

21.  The  refuge  of  the  atheist,  when  pressed  with  this 
argument,  is  to  say,  that  the  wisdom  is  in  nature  :  but  he 
speaks  unintelligibly,  and  we  aie  sure  does  not  under¬ 
stand  himself.  Wisdom  is  an  attribute  of  mind,  and  must 
reside  in  a  being  distinct  from  the  universe,  as  the  maker 
of  a  machine  is  distinct  from  the  machine  itself.  That 
being  is  God,  “  wonderful  in  counsel,  excellent  in  working.” 

22.  If  we  lighted  upon  a  book  containing  a  well-digested 
narrative  of  facts,  or  a  train  of  accurate  reasoning,  we 
should  never  think  of  calling  it  a  work  of  chance,  but 
would  immediately  pronounce  it  the  production  of  a  cul¬ 
tivated  mind.  If  we  saw  in  a  wilderness  a  building  well- 
proportioned,  commodiously  ai'ranged,  and  furnished  with 
taste,  we  should  conclude  without  hesitation,  and  without 
the  slightest  suspicion  of  mistake,  that  human  intellect 
and  human  labor  had  been  employed  in  planning  and 
erecting  it. 

In  cases  of  this  kind  an  atheist  would  reason  precisely 
as  other  men  do.  Why  then  does  he  not  draw  the  same 
inference  from  the  proofs  of  design  which  are  discovered 
in  the  works  of  creation  %  While  the  premises  are  the 
same,  why  is  the  conclusion  different!  Upon  what  pre¬ 
text  of  reason  does  he  deny  that  a  work,  in  all  the  parts 
of  which  wisdom  appears,  is  the  production  of  an  intelli¬ 
gent  author,  and  attribute  the  universe  to  chance,  to  na¬ 
ture,  to  necessity,  to  anything,  although  it  should  be  a 
word  without  meaning,  rather  than  to  God  1 

23.  It  is  impossible  to  survey  the  objects  around  us 
with  any  degree  of  attention,  and  not  perceive  marks  of 
design,  ends  aimed  at,  and  means  employed  to  accom¬ 
plish  those  ends. 


INSTANCES  OF  DESIGN. 


11 


We  need  to  go  no  furtlier  in  quest  of  evidence  than  our 
own  frame,  which  appears  the  more  admirable  the  more 
carefully  it  is  examined,  and  the  more  intimately  it  is 
known. 

No  person  who  considers  the  use  of  the  eye,  and  is  ac¬ 
quainted  with  its  internal  structure,  so  skillfully  adapted 
to  the  transmission  and  refraction  of  the  rays  of  light,  can 
any  more  doubt  that  it  was  intended  for  the  purpose  of 
vision,  than  he  can  doubt,  when  he  understands  the  con¬ 
struction  of  the  telescope,  that  it  was  intended  to  enable 
us  to  see  objects  at  a  distance. 

No  man  doubts,  when  he  examines  the  external  form 
and  internal  configuration  of  the  ear,  that  it  is  an  instru¬ 
ment  expressly  provided  for  the  conveyance  of  sound ;  or 
that  the  lungs  were  made  for  respiration ;  the  stomach 
for  the  reception  and  concoction  of  our  food  ;  and  the 
wonderful  system  of  vessels,  known  by  the  names  of  arte¬ 
ries  and  veins,  for  carrying  the  blood  from  the  heart  to 
every  part  of  the  body,  and  then  returning  it  to  its  source. 

No  man  can  doubt  that  the  design  of  glands  is  to  se¬ 
crete  ;  of  nerves,  to  propagate  feeling  and  motion ;  of  the 
teet/i,  so  differently  formed,  to  cut  and  masticate ;  of  legs, 
to  support  the  body,  and  move  it  from  place  to  place  ;  of 
arms  and  hands  divided  into  fingers,  to  perform  the  vari¬ 
ous  operations  which  are  necessary  to  our  subsistence  and 
comfort. 

24.  The  bodies  of  the  inferior  animals,  in  their  general 
structure,  bear  a  striking  analogy  to  our  own.  When  a 
difference  is  found,  the  proofs  of  wisdom  multiply  upon 
us,  for  it  manifestly  proceeds  from  an  intention  to  accom¬ 
modate  the  animal,  or  to  adapt  it  to  its  peculiar  circum¬ 
stances.  It  is  comprehensive  wisdom  ;  wisdom  which 
can  command  not  only  one  system  of  means,  but  a  variety 
of  expedients,  to  meet  the  diversity  of  cases  which  were 
necessary  to  the  replenishing  of  the  different  parts  of  na¬ 
ture  with  inhabitants. 

25.  If  one  animal  lives  upon  herbs,  another  upon  seeds, 
and  a  third  upon  the  flesh  of  other  animals,  we  find  that 
while  they  are  in  common  furnished  with  a  stomach,  this 
member  is  differently  constructed  in  each,  so  as  to  receive 
and  digest  its  peculiar  food. 

We  observe  again,  that  whether  animals  move  upon 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  or  fly  in  the  air,  or  swim  in  the 


12 


APPARENT  IRREGULARITIES. 


waters,  their  external  form  and  internal  organization  are 
admirably  accommodated  to  their  mode  of  life,  and  to  the 
place  of  their  habitation. 

26.  Variety  amid  uniformity  is  an  evidence  upon  which 
we  may  confidently  depend,  that  what  appears  to  be  de¬ 
sign  is  not  the  efiect  of  chance,  or  of  a  blind  necessity 
which  would  always  produce  the  same  results,  but  of  an 
intelligent  mind,  fertile  in  contrivances,  and  in  every  in¬ 
stance  choosing  the  best. 

Apjiarent  Irregularities  and  Defects  in  Creation  explained. 

27.  The  wonderful  contrivance  which  appears  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  solar  system,  or  even  in  the  human 
body,  abundantly  proves  the  Creator  to  be  infinitely  wise. 
That  he  has  not  thought  fit  to  make  all  things  equally 
beautiful  and  excellent,  can  never  be  an  imputation  upon 
his  wisdom  and  goodness  :  for  how  absurd  would  it  be  to 
say  that  he  would  have  displayed  more  wisdom,  if  he  had 
endowed  all  things  with  life,  perception,  and  reason! 
Stones  and  plants,  air  and  water,  are  most  useful  things, 
and  would  have  been  much  less  useful  if  they  had  been 
percipient  beings  ;  as  the  inferior  animals  would  have 
been  both  less  useful  and  less  happy,  if  they  had  been 
rational.  Their  existence,  therefore,  and  their  natures, 
are  proofs  of  the  divine  goodness  and  wisdom,  instead  of 
being  arguments  against  it. 

28.  In  the  course  of  providence  a  vast  number  of  events 
and  objects  may  be  employed  to  accomplish  one  great 
end  ;  and  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  pronounce  reasonably 
of  any  one  event,  or  object,  that  it  is  useless,  or  improper, 
unless  we  know  its  tendency  and  connection  with  other 
things,  both  past  and  future  ;  which,  in  cases  innumerable, 
we  cannot  do.  That,  therefore,  may  be  a  most  wise 
and  beneficent  dispensation,  which  to  a  captious  mind 
and  fallible  judgment  may  appear  the  contrary. 

Even  in  this  world  Providence  often  brings  good  out 
of  evil,  and  every  man  of  observation  must  have  perceived 
that  certain  events  of  his  life,  which  wdien  they  happened 
seemed  to  be  great  misfortunes,  have  been  found  to  be 
great  blessings  in  the  end.  - 

[Dr.  John  Dick’s  Lectures,  vol.  i.  pp.  160-176 ;  Beattie’s  Elements : 
Stewart’s  Works,  vol.  v.] 


UNITY  OF  GOD. 


13 


13.  The  province  and  use  of  the  science  of  Natural  Theology? 

14.  What  remark  maybe  made  concerning  the  proofs  of^the  divine 
existence  ? 

15.  The  absurdity  and  folly  of  Atheism? 

1C.  First  argument  produced  for  the  divine  existence? 

17.  The  atheist,  being  compelled  to  concede  that  something  has  existed 
from  eternity,  what  false  supposition  does  he  adopt? 

18.  Is  it  consonant  to  reason  to  regard  the  universe  as  an  eternal  exist 
ence  ? 

19.  What  do  the  atheists  mean  when  they  afBrm  that  the  universe  pro¬ 
ceeds  from  chance  ? 

20.  On  what  is  the  second  argument  for  the  existence  of  Deity  founded  ? 

21.  Refuge  of  the  atheist  when  pressed  with  this  argument  ? 

22.  If  any  one  should  deny  that  there  are  marks  of  design  in  the  works 
of  God,  what  would  it  be  just  to  say  in  reply  ? 

23.  What  are  a  few  of  the  numberless  objects  that  indicate  design,  con¬ 
trivance,  skill,  and  wisdom  in  their  author  ? 

24,.  Marks  of  design  in  the  bodies  of  the  inferior  animals  ? 

25.  Examples  of  comprehensive  wisdom  ? 

26.  What  may  be  said  of  the  variety  amid  uniformity  ? 

27.  Is  it  not  true  that  there  are  in  the  universe  many  marks  of  irregu¬ 
larity  and  want  of  design,  as  well  as  of  regularity  and  wisdom ;  and  does 
not  this  prove  that  the  being  who  made  all  things  is  not  perfectly,  or  at 
all  timej.  wise  and  good? 

28.  W  tiat  other  view  is  to  be  taken  of  apparent  irregularities  and  defects 
in  the  works  of  creation  ? 


CHAPTER  II. 

OF  THE  DIVINE  ATTRIBUTES. 

29.  When  we  ascribe  to  God  every  good  quality  that 
we  can  conceive,  and  consider  Him  as  possessed  of  them 
all  in  infinite  perfection,  and  as  free  from  every  imperfec¬ 
tion,  we  form  the  best  idea  of  Him  that  we  can ;  but  it 
must  fall  infinitely  short  of  the  truth. 

30.  The  attributes  of  Deity  have  been  distributed  into 
three  classes,  the  Natural,  the  Intellectual,  and  the  Moral. 

The  Natural  attributes  are.  Unity,  Self-existence,  Spir¬ 
ituality,  Omnipotence,  Immutability,  Eternity : 

The  Intellectual  are.  Knowledge  and  Wisdom: 

The  Moral  are,  Justice,  Goodness,  Mercy,  Holiness. 

Unity  of  God. 

31.  That  God  exists,  has  been  proved  already.  That 
there  are  more  gods  than  one,  we  have  no  evidence,  and 
therefore  cannot  rationally  believe.  Nay,  even  from  the 
light  of  nature,  we  have  evidence  that  there  is  one  only. 


14 


UNITY  OF  GOD. 


(1.)  It  is  reckoned  a  fundamental  rule  in  philosopliy, 
not  to  suppose  more  causes  than  are  necessary  to  produce 
the  effect.  This  principle  conducts  us  to  the  unity  o» 
Deity ;  for  the  necessity  of  finding  an  adequate  efficient 
cause  does  not  compel  us  to  have  recourse  to  a  plurality 
of  gods.  The  power  that  w'as  equal  to  the  creation  of  a 
part  was  equal  to  the  creation  of  the  whole. 

(2.)  The  uniformity  of  plan  that  pervades  the  system 
indicates  unity  of  counsel,  at  least,  in  its  formation.  We 
can  trace  unity  of  plan  in  the  great  fabric  of  the  universe, 
so  far  as  we  are  capable  of  observing  it.  The  law  oi 
gravitation  prevails  throughout  the  solar  system.  AH 
the  bodies  in  that  system  seem  to  revolve  on  their  own 
axes  :  all  the  planets  move  in  the  same  direction  in  the 
zodiac.  The  light  of  the  fixed  stars  affects  the  eye  in  the 
same  way  as  that  of  the  sun,  and  it  travels  at  the  same 
rate,  as  we  learn  from  the  delicate  discovery  of  their  ab¬ 
erration.  On  descending  to  our  earth  we  find  a  similar 
uniformity  prevailing,  and  can  easily  trace  the  harmonious 
combination  of  many  great  parts  in  one  magnificent  whole. 
See  Fergus  on  Nature  and  Revelation.  Book  III. 

The  different  parts  of  nature  are  admirably  adjusted 
to  each  other.  The  relations  between  the  different  parts 
of  the  system  ;  between  the  sun,  the  earth,  the  air,  and 
the  ocean  ;  between  the  animate  and  inanimate  parts  of 
creation,  direct  us  to  one  powerful  Creator.  From  this 
unity  of  plan  we  may  fairly  infer  the  unity  of  Deity. 

32.  The  wisest  men  in  the  heathen  world,  though  they 
worshiped  inferior  deities  (or  rather  names  tcMch  they 
substituted  for  deities),  did  yet  seem  to  acknowledge  one 
supreme  God,  the  greatest  and  best  of  beings,  the  father 
of  gods  and  men.  It  is  probable  that  belief  in  one  God 
was  the  original  belief  of  mankind  with  respect  to  Deity  ; 
but  partly  from  their  narrow  views,  which  made  them 
think  that  one  being  could  not,  without  subordinate  agents, 
superintend  all  things  ;  partly  from  their  fiatteiy  to  living 
great  men,  and  gratitude  to  the  dead,  disposing  them  to 
pay  divine  honors  to  human  creatures  ;  partly  from  fan¬ 
ciful  analogies  between  the  divine  providence  and  earthly 
governments ;  and  partly  from  the  figures  of  poetry,  by 
which  they  saw  the  attributes  of  the  Deity  personified, 
they  soon  corrupted  the  original  belief,  and  fell  into  Poly¬ 
theism  and  idolatry.  And  no  ancient  people  ever  retained 


GOD,  SPIRITUAL  AND  ALMIGHTY. 


15 


long  their  belief  in  the  one  true  God,  except  the  Jews, 
who  were  enlightened  by  revelation  ;  and  even  they  were 
frequently  inclined  to  adopt  the  superstitions  of  their 
neighbors.  We  see  then  that  in  order  to  ascertain,  and 
fix  men’s  notions  of  the  divine  unity,  revelation  seems  to 
be  necessary. 

Self-existence  and  Independence  of  Deity. 

33.  If  God  depended  on  anything,  that  thing  would  be 
superior  and  prior  to  him,  which  is  absurd ;  because  he  is 
himself  the  supreme  and  the  first  cause :  therefore  his 
existence  does  not  depend  on  anything  whatever. 

Sp>irituality  of  God. 

34.  (1.)  He  is  a  living  being,  but  matter  is  not.  Life  is 
the  peculiar  attribute  of  spirit. 

(2.)  He  is  an  intelligent  being,  as  we  collect  from  the 
appearances  of  design  in  his  works :  but  knowledge  is 
an  attribute  of  mind  or  spirit.  There  is  nothing  in  the 
properties  of  matter  which  is  allied  to  thought  or  feeling. 
It  is  not  the  eye  which  sees,  nor  the  ear  which  hears,  but 
the  soul.  Matter  being  incapable  of  intelligence,  all  the 
proofs  of  wisdom  in  the  universe  are  at  the  same  time 
proofs  that  the  divine  essence  is  spiritual. 

(3.)  God  is  an  active  being.  He  is  the  first  cause  of  all 
things  which  exist.  We  are  conscious  of  the  activity  of 
our  own  spirits ;  and  we  observe  that  matter  is  essentially 
inactive.  It  moves,  or  stops  moving,  only  by  impulse,  or 
influence  of  a  foreign  agent  or  body.  Power  belongs  to 
God,  as  we  know  from  its  effects  ;  and  it  belongs  to  him 
because  he  is  a  spirit. 

Omnipotence  of  Deity. 

35.  In  order  to  be  satisfied  that  God  is  omnipotent,  we 
need  only  to  look  around  upon  the  wonders  of  creation. 
To  produce  such  astonishing  effects  as  we  see  in  the  uni¬ 
verse,  and  experience  in  our  own  frame  ;  and  to  produce 
them  out  of  nothing,  and  sustain  them  in  the  most  perfect 
regularity,  must  certainly  be  the  effect  of  power  which 
is  able  to  do  all  things,  and  which,  therefore,  nothing  can 
resist. 

The  omnipotence  of  God  is  displayed  in  the  preserva¬ 
tion  of  all  things,  which  has  been  called  a  continual  crea- 


16 


EXERTIONS  OF  DIVINE  POWER. 


tion ;  for  as  their  existence  is  dependent,  it  is  prolonged 
from  moment  to  moment  by  the  same  power  which  created 
them  at  first.  Some  seem  to  speak,  as  if  having  been 
once  made,  they  had  the  ground  or  reason  of  their  being  in 
themselves,  continued  without  the  immediate  interference  of 
their  Creator,  and  could  only  cease  to  be  by  a  positive  acA 
of  his  will.  They  insinuate  that  it  would  imply  imper¬ 
fection  if  they  needed  his  constant  care,  and  remind  us  o^ 
the  works  of  man,  which  do  not  fall  to  pieces  when  tin? 
hand  of  the  artist  is  withdrawn.  But  between  the  two 
cases  there  is  no  analogy.  The  works  of  man  are  not 
dependent  on  him  for  their  existence,  but  for  their  form : 
the  materials  of  winch  they  are  composed  subsist,  and 
even  the  order  in  which  they  are  arranged  is  maintained 
by  the  laws  of  nature.  A  creature  can  no  more  preserve^, 
than  it  can  make  itself. 

When  we  reflect  upon  the  movements  which  are  going 
on  among  the  immense  celestial  bodies,  how  stupendous 
seems  the  power  by  which  they  are  conducted  !  Our 
earth,  almost  eight  thousand  miles  in  diameter,  travels 
about  fifteen  hundred  thousand  miles  in  a  day ;  and  at  the 
same  time  it  is  spinning  on  its  own  axis,  and  turning  uo 
successively  the  vegetables  and  animals  which  it  nurses 
on  its  bosom,  to  the  genial  influence  of  the  solar  rays. 
And,  with  this  inconceivable  rapidity,  how  unceasing, 
steady,  and  uniform  are  its  motions.  The  same  holds  in 
the  other  planets,  some  of  them  vastly  larger  than  our 
globe.  Each  of  them  regulai'ly  and  steadily  performs  its 
revolutions. 

We  say  that  matter  is  inert;  that  if  at  rest  it  will  con¬ 
tinue  at  rest,  and  if  in  motion  it  will  continue  in  motion. 
But  in  stating  this  fact  we  have  not  accounted  for  it  by 
calling  it  a  law  of  nature.  Why  does  a  body  continue  in 
motion  1  It  is  not  owing  to  its  own  activity,  but  to  the 
energy  of  the  Creator’s  will.  This  gave  the  first  impulse, 
and  this  holds  on  its  course  for  ages. 

But  the  divine  power  cannot  extend  to  what  is  either 
impossible  in  itself,  or  unsuitable  to  the  perfection  of  his 
nature.  To  make  the  same  thing  to  be  and  not  to  be  at 
the  same  time  is  impossible ;  and  to  act  inconsistently 
with  justice,  goodness,  and  wisdom,  must  be  equally  im¬ 
possible  to  a  being  of  infinite  purity. 


ETERNITY,  WISDOM,  AND  GOODNESS  OP  GOD.  17 

Eternity  and  Immutability  of  God. 

36.  That  God  is  from  everlasting  to  everlasting,  is  evident 
from  his  being  self-existent  and  almighty.  That  he  was 
from  all  eternity,  has  been  proved  already ;  and  it  can 
admit  of  no  doubt,  that  what  is  independent  and  omnipo¬ 
tent  must  continue  to  all  eternity;  for  it  is  incapable  of 
being  changed  by  anything  else  ;  and  that  which  is  infi¬ 
nitely  wise  and  good  can  never  be  supposed  to  make  any 
change  in  itself. 

Moreover,  that  which  exists  by  necessity  of  nature,  by 
the  same  necessity  exists  as  it  is,  and  cannot  be  otherwise. 

Knowledge  and  Wisdom  of  Deity. 

37.  As  God  is  the  maker  and  preserver  of  all  things, 
and  is  everywhere  present  (for  to  suppose  him  to  be  in 
some  places  only,  and  not  in  all,  would  be  to  suppose  him 
a  limited  and  imperfect  being),  his  knowledge  must  be 
infinite,  and  comprehend  at  all  times,  whatever  is,  or  was, 
or  shall  be.  Were  his  knowledge  progressive,  like  ours, 
it  would  be  imperfect ;  for  they  who  become  more  wise 
must  formerly  have  been  less  so. 

Wisdom  is  the  right  exercise  of  knowledge  :  and  that 
he  is  infinitely  wise  is  proved  incontestably  by  the  same 
arguments  that  prove  his  existence. 

The  celebrated  Linnaeus  always  testified  in  his  conver¬ 
sation,  writings,  and  actions,  the  greatest  sense  of  God’s 
omniscience  :  and  so  strongly  impressed  was  he  with  the 
idea  of  it,  that  he  wrote  over  the  door  of  his  library,  “  In- 
nocui  vivite,  numen  adest,” — “  Live  innocent,  God  is  at 
hand.” 

Goodness  of  Deity. 

38.  The  goodness  of  God  is  clearly  deducible  from  the 
act  of  creation.  W e  can  conceive  no  other  reason  for  the 
exertion  of  his  power  in  giving  life  to  so  many  orders  of 
creatures,  and  fitting  up  the  earth  to  be  a  convenient  hab¬ 
itation  for  them. 

This  argument  consists  of  two  parts  :  the  formation  of 
sensitive  beings  capable  of  happiness,  and  the  adaptation 
of  the  circumstances  in  which  they  are  placed  to  pro¬ 
mote  it. 

Dr.  Paley  rests  the  proof  of  the  divine  goodness  on  the 
two  following  propositions : 


18 


GOODNESS  AND  JUSTICE  OF  DEITY. 


(1.)  That  in  a  vast  plurality  of  instances  in  which  con¬ 
trivance  is  perceivable,  the  design  of  the  contrivance  is 
beneficial. 

(2.)  That  the  Deity  has  superadded  pleasure  to  animal 
sensations,  beyond  what  was  necessary  for  any  other  pur¬ 
pose  ;  or  when  the  purpose,  so  far  as  it  was  necessary, 
might  have  been  effected  by  the  operation  of  pain. 

Other  writers  have  mentioned  the  following  circum¬ 
stances  as  illustrative  of  the  divine  goodness. 

Nothing  is  wanting  to  living  creatures  which  is  neces¬ 
sary  for  the  preservation  of  life,  for  defence,  the  procur¬ 
ing  of  food,  and  motion  from  place  to  place. 

He  who  bestowed  life  has  rendered  it  a  gift  worthy  of 
himself  by  associating  with  it  a  great  variety  of  conve¬ 
niences  and  pleasures,  instead  of  pains. 

The  goodness  of  God  is  displayed  in  the  abundant  pro¬ 
vision  which  he  has  made  for  the  wants  of  his  creatures. 
Also,  in  providing  means  for  healing  wounds  and  curing 
diseases. 

*  *  *  Nature  teaches  us  of  God, 

Her  architect — her  master.  At  His  feet 
She  crouches,  and  in  offering  him  her  praise 
From  myriad  altars,  and  in  myriad  tones, 

She  bids  man  praise  Him  also.  In  the  broad 
Magnificent  ocean,  surging  in  wild  foam. 

Yet  bounded  in  its  madness  ;  in  the  fierce, 

Shrieking,  and  howling  tempest,  crashing  on 
In  desolating  wrath,  yet  curb’d  with  reins, 

She  shows  His  awful  power,  yet  tender  care. 

In  the  free  sunlight,  in  the  dropping  clouds — 

And  changes  of  the  seasons,  she  proclaims 
His  boundless  goodness  and  exhaustless  love. 

A.  B.  Street. 

The  existence  of  natural  and  moral  evils  in  the  world 
may  be  satisfactorily  explained,  without  calling  in  ques¬ 
tion  the  divine  goodness.  There  are  numerous  advan¬ 
tages  and  compensations  which  reason  discovers  in  con¬ 
nection  with  these  evils  :  but  divine  revelation  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  furnish  a  full  explanation  of  them  in  consistency 
with  divine  goodness.  Upon  this  subject  may  be  con¬ 
sulted  Paley’s  Natural  Theology,  Fergus  on  Nature  and 
Revelation,  and  Lectures  of  Dr.  Dick. 

Justice  of  God. 

39.  Justice  is  necessary  to  the  formation  of  every  good 
character ;  and  therefore  the  Deity  must  be  perfectly 


JUSTICE  OP  THE  DEITY. 


19 


just.  If  we  follow  the  guidance  of  unsophisticated  rea¬ 
son,  it  will  lead  us  to  the  same  conclusion  with  the  Scrip¬ 
tures,  that  G-od  is  just,  as  well  as  wise  and  good  ;  that  he 
is  not  only  the  maker  and  preserver,  but  also  the  ruler  of 
the  world ;  and  that  as  power  and  wisdom  are  requisite 
to  guide  and  sustain  inanimate  matter,  and  irrational 
creatures,  so  justice  is  indispensable  to  the  government 
of  intelligent  and  moral  agents,  who  are  the  proper  sub¬ 
jects  of  law,  and  may  deserve  to  be  rewarded  or  punished. 

The  consciences  of  men  bear  testimony  to  the  justice 
of  God,  even  where  divine  revelation  is  not  enjoyed. 
Hence  a  belief  of  the  divine  justice  has  prevailed  among 
all  nations  in  every  age.  Under  the  influence  of  con¬ 
science  they  have  understood  certain  events  as  instances 
of  retributive  justice,  and  remarked  the  punishment  of  in¬ 
dividuals  in  the  calamities  that  befell  them.  Their  histo¬ 
ries  abound  in  facts  which  were  construed  to  be  divine 
judgments,  interpositions  of  the  gods  to  avenge  them¬ 
selves  upon  those  who  were  guilty  of  fraud,  murder,  and 
impiety.  They  erred  in  attributing  these  acts  of  justice 
to  beings  who  existed  only  in  their  own  vain  imagina¬ 
tions  ;  but  they  were  right  in  interpreting  them  as  proofs 
that  there  is  a  moral  government  which  will  not  permit 
crimes  to  escape  with  impunity. 

Further  proofs  of  divine  justice  will  be  submitted  in 
another  chapter. 


29.  Is  it  in  our  power  to  form  a  complete  conception  of  the  divine  na¬ 
ture  ? 

30.  How  have  the  attributes  of  Deity  been  distributed  ? 

31.  What  reason  have  we  for  believing  the  unity  of  God? 

32.  How  then  can  we  account  for  the  prevalence  of  Polytheism? 

33.  How  does  reason  ascertain  the  self-existence  of  God  ? 

34.  What  ground  does  nature  furnish  for  the  belief  that  God  is  a  spirit? 

35.  Evidence  that  God  is  omnipotent  ? 

36.  How  does  it  appear  that  God  is  eternal  and  unchangeable  ? 

37.  Proof  of  the  divine  knowledge,  wisdom,  and  omnipresence  ? 

38.  How  do  we  learn  the  goodness  of  God? 

39.  What  information  does  nature  alford  us  of  the  justice  of  God? 


20 


MORAL  GOVERNMENT. 


CHAPTER  III. 

EVIDENCES  OF  THE  MORAL  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE 
DEITY  FROM  THE  LIGHT  OF  NATURE. 

40.  The  constitution  of  human  nature,  and  the  state  of 
the  world,  are  the  only  sources  from  which  unassisted 
reason  can  discover  the  character  of  the  divine  govern¬ 
ment. 

I.  Evidences  of  a  Moral  Government  from  the  Constitution  of 

Human  Nature. 

41.  (1.)  The  distribution  of  pleasure  and  pain  in  the 
mind  of  man  is  a  moral  distribution.  Those  affections 
which  we  denominate  virtuous  are  attended  with  imme¬ 
diate  pleasure ;  the  opjDOsite  affections  and  conduct,  with 
immediate  pain.  The  man  who  acts  under  the  influence 
of  benevolence,  gratitude,  a  regard  to  justice  and  truth, 
is  in  a  state  of  enjoyment.  The  heart  which  is  actuated 
by  resentment  or  malice  is  a  stranger  to  joy.  This  is 
one  specimen  of  moral  government. 

(2.)  The  Creator  has  implanted  a  faculty  in  the  human 
mind  which  approves  of  virtue  and  condemns  vice.  It  is 
not  enough  to  say  that  righteousness  is  prudent  because 
it  is  attended  with  pleasure ;  that  wickedness  is  foolish, 
because  it  is  attended  with  pain.  Conscience,  in  judging 
of  them,  pronounces  the  one  to  be  right,  and  the  other  to 
be  wrong. 

The  righteous,  supported  by  that  most  delightful  of  all 
sentiments,  the  sense  that  he  is  doing  his  duty,  proceeds 
with  self-approbation,  and  reflects  upon  his  conduct  with 
complacence  ;  the  wicked  not  only  is  distracted  by  the 
conflict  of  various  wretched  passions,  but  acts  under  the 
perpetual  conviction  that  he  is  doing  what  he  ought  not 
to  do.  The  hurry  of  business,  or  the  tumult  of  passion, 
may,  for  a  season,  so  far  drown  tlie  voice  of  conscience 
as  to  leave  him  at  liberty  to  accomplish  his  purpose. 
But  when  his  mind  is  cool,  he  perceives  that,  in  follow¬ 
ing  blindly  the  impulse  of  appetite,  he  has  acted  beneath 
.the  dignity  of  his  rational  nature.  The  indulgence  of 


MORAL  GOVERNMENT. 


21 


malevolent  affections  is  punished  by  the  sentiment  of  re¬ 
morse,  and  he  despises  himself  for  every  act  of  baseness. 

(3.)  Conscience,  anticipating  the  future  consequences  of 
human  actions,  forebodes  that  it  shall  be  well  with  the 
righteous,  and  ill  with  the  wicked. 

The  righteous  man,  although  naturally  modest  and 
unassuming,  not  only  enjoys  present  serenity,  but  looks 
forward  with  good  hope.  The  prospect  of  future  ease 
lightens  every  burden,  and  the  view  of  distant  scenes  of 
happiness  and  joy  holds  up  his  head  in  the  time  of  ad¬ 
versity. 

But  every  crime  is  accompanied  with  a  sense  of  deserved 
punishment.  To  the  man  who  has  disregarded  the  admo¬ 
nitions  of  conscience,  she  soon  begins  to  utter  her  dread¬ 
ful  presages  :  she  lays  open  to  his  view  the  dismal  scenes 
which  lie  beyond  every  unlawful  pursuit ;  and  sometimes, 
awaking  with  increased  fury,  she  produces  horrors  that 
constitute  a  degree  of  wretchedness,  in  comparison  of 
which  all  the  sufferings  of  life  do  not  deserve  to  be  men¬ 
tioned. 

42.  The  constitution  of  human  nature  being  the  work 
of  God,  the  three  particulars  which  have  been  mentioned 
as  parts  of  that  constitution  are  parts  of  his  government. 

(1.)  The  pleasure  which  accompanies  one  set  of  affec¬ 
tions,  and  the  pain  which  accompanies  the  opposite, 
afford  an  instance  in  the  government  of  God  of  virtue 
being  rewarded,  and  of  vice  being  punished. 

(2.)  The  faculty  which  passes  sentence  upon  human 
actions  is  a  declaration  from  the  Author  of  our  nature  of 
that  conduct  which  is  agreeable  to  him,  because  it  is  a 
rule  directing  his  creatures  to  pursue  a  certain  line  of 
conduct. 

(3.)  The  presentiment  of  the  future  consequences  of 
our  behavior  is  a  declaration,  from  the  Author  of  our 
nature,  of  the  manner  in  which  his  government  is  to  pro¬ 
ceed  with  regard  to  us.  The  hopes  and  fears  natural  to 
the  human  mind  are  the  language  in  which  God  foretells 
to  man  the  events  in  which  he  is  deeply  interested. 

To  suppose  that  the  Almighty  engages  his  creatures  in 
a  certain  course  of  action  by  delusive  hopes  and  fears,  is 
at  once  absurd  and  impious  ;  and  if  we  think  worthily  of 
the  Supreme  Being,  we  cannot  entertain  a  doubt  that  He, 
who  by  the  constitution  of  human  nature  has  declared  his 


22 


MORAL  GOVERNMENT. 


love  of  virtue  and  his  hatred  of  vice,  will  at  length  appear 
the  righteous  Governor  of  the  Universe. 

When,  spite  of  conscience,  pleasure  is  pursued, 

Man’s  nature  is  unnaturally  pleased  ; 

And  what’s  unnatural  is  painful  too. 

At  intervals,  and  must  disgust  e’en  thee  ! 

The  fact  thou  know’st ;  but  not,  perhaps,  the  cause. 

Virtue’s  foundations  with  the  world’s  were  laid  ; 

Heav’n  mixed  her  with  our  make,  and  twisted  close 
Her  sacred  int’rests  with  the  strings  of  life. 

Young. 

II.  W/iat  unassisted  Reason  may  discover  of  the  Character  of  the 
Government  of  God,  from  the  state  of  the  World. 

43.  Here  also  we  may  observe  three  traces  of  a  moral 
government. 

(1.)  It  recurs,  to  consider  the  world  as  the  situation  in 
which  creatures,  having  the  constitution  which  has  been 
described,  are  placed. 

Acting  in  the  presence  of  men,  that  is,  of  creatures 
constituted  as  we  ourselves  are,  and  feeling  a  connection 
with  them  in  all  the  occupations  of  life,  ice  experience  in 
the  sentiments  of  those  around  us,  a  further  reward  and 
punishment  than  that  xvhich  arises  from  the  sense  of  our 
own  minds. 

The  faculty  which  passes  sentence  upon  a  man’s  own 
actions,  when  carried  forth  to  the  actions  of  others,  be¬ 
comes  a  principle  of  esteem  or  contempt.  The  sense  of 
good  or  ill-desert  becomes,  upon  the  review  of  the  con¬ 
duct  of  others,  applause  or  indignation.  When  it  referred 
to  a  man’s  own  conduct,  it  pointed  only  at  what  was  future. 
When  it  refers  to  the  conduct  of  others,  it  becomes  an 
active  principle,  and  proceeds  in  some  measure  to  execute 
the  rules  which  it  pronounces  to  be  just. 

Hence  the  righteous  man  is  rewarded  by  the  sentiments 
of  his  fellow-creatures.  He  experiences  the  gratitude  of 
some,  and  the  friendship,  at  least  the  good-will,  of  all. 
The  wicked  man,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  stranger  to 
esteem,  and  confidence,  and  love.  His  vices  expose  him 
to  censure ;  his  deceit  renders  him  an  object  of  distrust ; 
his  malice  creates  him  enemies.  According  to  the  kind 
and  the  degree  of  his  demerit,  contempt,  or  hatred,  or 
indignation  is  felt  by  every  one  who  knows  his  character; 
and  even  when  these  sentiments  do  not  lead  others  to  do 


MORAL  GOVERNMENT. 


23 


him  harm,  they  weaken  or  extinguish  the  emotions  of 
sympathy,  so  that  his  neighbors  do  not  rejoice  in  his 
prosperity,  and  hardly  weep  over  his  misfortunes. 

Thus  does  God  employ  the  general  sense  of  mankind 
to  encourage  and  reward  the  righteous;  to  correct  and 
punish  the  wicked.  Thus  has  He  constituted  men,  in  some 
sort,  the  keepers  of  their  brethren,  the  guardians  of  one 
another’s  virtue.  The  natural,  unperverted  sentiments  of 
the  human  mind,  with  regard  to  character  and  conduct, 
are  upon  the  side  of  virtue  and  against  vice  ;  and  the 
course  of  the  world,  turning  in  a  great  measure  upon  these 
sentiments,  indicates  a  moral  government. 

(2.)  A  second  trace,  in  the  state  of  the  world,  of  the 
moral  govermnent  of  God,  is  the  civil  government  hy  which 
society  subsists. 

Those  who  are  employed  in  administering  civil  govern¬ 
ment,  are  not  supposed  to  act  immediately  from  sentiment. 
It  is  expected  that  without  regard  to  their  own  private 
emotions,  they  shall  in  every  case  proceed  according  to 
certain  known  and  established  laws.  But  these  laws,  so 
far  as  they  go,  are  in  general  consonant  to  the  sentiments 
of  the  human  mind,  and,  like  them,  are  favorable  to  the 
cause  of  virtue. 

The  happiness,  the  existence  of  human  government 
depends  upon  the  protection  and  encouragement  which 
it  affords  to  virtue,  and  the  punishment  which  it  inflicts 
upon  vice.  The  government  of  men  therefore,  in  its  best 
and  hapniest  form,  is  a  moral  government ;  and  being  a 
part,  an  instrument  of  the  government  of  God,  it  serves 
to  intimate  to  us  the  rule  according  to  which  his  provi¬ 
dence  operates  through  the  general  system. 

(3.)  Setting  aside  all  consideration  of  the  opinions  of  the 
instrumentality  of  man,  there  appear  in  the  world  evident 
traces  of  the  moral  government  of  God. 

Many  of  the  consequences  of  men’s  behavior  happen 
without  the  intervention  of  any  agent.  Of  this  kind,  are 
the  effects  which  their  way  of  life  has  upon  their  health, 
and  much  of  its  influence  upon  their  fortune  and  situation. 

Effects  of  the  same  nature  extend  to  communities  of 
men. 

Communities  derive  strength  and  stability  from  the 
truthfulness,  moderation,  temperance,  and  public  spirit  of 
the  members;  whereas  idleness,  luxury,  and  turbulence, 


24 


MORAL  GOVERNMENT. 


while  they  ruin  the  private  fortunes  of  many  individuals, 
are  hurtful  to  the  community ;  and  the  general  depravity 
of  the  members  is  the  disease  and  weakness  of  the  state. 

44.  These  effects  upon  communities  of  different  courses 
of  private  conduct  are  not  a  part  of  the  political  regula¬ 
tions  which  are  made  with  different  degrees  of  wisdom 
in  different  states;  but  they  may  be  observed  in  all 
countries.  They  are  a  part  of  what  we  commonly  call 
the  course  of  nature  ;  that  is,  they  are  rewards  and  punish¬ 
ments  ordained  by  the  Lord  of  nature,  not  affected  by  the 
caprice  of  his  subjects,  and  flowing  immediately  from  the 
conduct  of  men. 

45.  That  obstructions  do  arise  to  the  full  operation  of 
these  rewards  and  punishments,  must  be  admitted  ;  yet 
the  degree  in  which  they  actually  take  place  is  sufficient 
to  ascertain  the  character  of  the  government  of  God. 

In  those  cases  where  we  are  able  to  trace  the  causes 
which  prevent  the  exact  distribution  of  good  and  evil,  we 
perceive  that  the  very  hindrances  are  wisely  adapted  to 
the  present  state.  Even  when  we  do  not  discern  the 
reasons  of  their  existence,  we  clearly  perceive  that  these 
hindrances  are  accidental;  that  virtue,  benign  and  salutary 
in  its  influences,  tends  to  produce  happiness,  pure  and 
unmixed ;  that  vice,  in  its  nature  mischievous,  tends  to 
confusion  and  misery. 

Now  we  cannot  avoid  considering  these  tendencies  as 
the  voice  of  Him  who  hath  established  the  order  of  nature, 
declaring  to  those  who  observe  and  understand  them,  the 
future  condition  of  the  righteous  and  the  wicked. 

And  thus,  in  the  world,  we  behold  upon  every  hand  of 
us  openings  of  a  kingdom  of  righteousness  corresponding 
to  what  we  previously  traced  in  the  constitution  of  human 
nature.  By  that  constitution,  while  reward  is  provided 
for  virtue  and  punishment  for  vice,  there  arise  in  our 
breast  the  forebodings  of  a  higher  reward  and  a  higher 
punishment.  So,  in  the  world,  while  there  are  manifold 
instances  of  a  righteous  distribution  of  good  and  evil, 
there  is  a  tendency  toward  a  completion  of  a  scheme 
which  is  here  but  begun. 

46.  It  may  be  objected,  that  the  distribution  of  rewards 
and  punishments  is  not  regular,  and  that  upon  the  whole, 
the  treatment  which  men  experience  from  providence  is 
little  connected  with  their  character  and  conduct.  The 


MORAL  GOVERNMENT. 


25 


prosperity  of  the  wicked  and  the  afflictions  of  the 
righteous,  have  in  all  ages  been  a  topic  of  declamation. 
But  even  the  occasional  instances  of  retribution  which  we 
witness,  are  hints  and  notices  that  justice  is  concerned  in 
the  actions  of  men,  and  are  calculated  to  excite  an  expec¬ 
tation,  that  at  some  period  it  will  be  more  openly  revealed. 
As  we  cannot  doubt  from  what  we  see,  that  justice  is  one 
of  the  attributes  of  the  supreme  Governor,  the  conclusion 
to  which  we  are  naturally  led  is,  that  there  are  reasons 
why  he  does  not  now  more  fully  display  it,  and  that  when 
these  reasons  have  ceased,  or  in  another  state  where  a 
new  order  of  things  will  exist,  an  exact  distribution  will 
take  place,  and  every  man  will  be  recompensed  according 
to  his  works.  [Dick’s  Lectures,  vol.i.  p.  261.] 

47.  The  sacred  scriptures  are  the  best  expositors  of 
the  divine  government.  All  our  disquisitions  concerning 
the  nature  of  that  government  only  prepare  us  for  receiv¬ 
ing  those  gracious  discoveries,  which,  confirming  every 
conclusion  of  right  reason,  resolving  every  doubt,  and  en¬ 
larging  the  imperfect  views  which  belong  to  this  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  our  existence,  bring  us  perfect  assurance  that, 
in  the  course  of  the  divine  government,  unlimited  in  extent, 
in  duration,  and  in  power,  every  hindrance  shall  be  re¬ 
moved,  the  natural  consequences  of  action  shall  be  allowed 
to  operate,  virtue  shall  be  happy,  and  vice  shall  be  mis¬ 
erable. 

[Lectures  of  Dr.  George  Hill;  Butler’s  Analogy ;  D.  Stewart’s  Works, 
vol.  V.  360-5.] 


40.  Evidences  of  moral  government  independently  of  divine  revelation  ? 

41.  Evidences  from  the  constitution  of  human  nature  ? 

42.  Nature  of  the  argument  derived  from  these  three  particulars? 

43.  What  may  unassisted  reason  discover  of  the  character  of  the  gov¬ 
ernment  of  God  from  the  state  of  the  world  ? 

44.  Do  not  these  effects  upon  communities  of  different  courses  of  private 
conduct  arise  from  civil  regulations? 

45.  But  from  the  present  situation  of  human  affairs,  do  there  not  arise 
many  obstructions  to  the  full  operation  of  these  rewards  emd punishments? 

46.  What  objection  may  here  be  noticed  ? 

47.  From  what  source  do  we  derive  a  more  perfect  view  of  the  moral 
government  of  God  ? 

B 


26 


PROVIDENCE. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

ON  PROVIDENCE. 

48.  Providence  is  the  action  or  conduct  of  God  in 
upholding  by  his  power  the  universe  which  he  has  created, 
and  of  regulating  all  beings  and  events  in  it  by  his  wisdom. 
It  is  the  care  which  God  takes  of  all  things,  to  uphold 
them  in  being,  and  to  direct  them  to  the  ends  which  he 
has  deteiTuined  to  accomplish  by  them,  so  that  nothing 
takes  place  in  which  he  is  not  concemed  in  a  manner 
worthy  of  his  perfections,  and  which  is  not  in  unison  with 
the  counsel  of  his  own  will. 

49.  (1-)  The  first  argument  in  proof  of  such  a  providence 
is  drawn  fi’om  the  acknowledged  perfections  of  God.  As 
these  prove  that  he  is  qualified  to  undertake  the  manage¬ 
ment  of  his  creatures  and  all  their  affairs,  so  they  furnish 
sure  ground  for  the  conclusion,  that  he  has  not  dismissed 
them  from  his  care. 

For  instance :  omniscience  brings  before  him  the  mi¬ 
nutest  object  as  well  as  the  gi'eatest,  and  the  most  secret 
as  well  as  open  actions ;  his  power  is  as  unlimited  as  his 
knowledge,  and  can  act  equally  well  and  with  equal  ease 
upon  any  and  every  part  of  the  universe  ;  his  wisdom  and 
goodness  are  also  unlimited,  and  fully  qualify  and  dispose 
him  to  exert  the  providence  that  has  been  asserted ;  his 
justice  also  requires  him  to  exercise  a  moral  government 
over  his  intelligent  creatures,  and  of  course  to  observe 
and  control  their  actions. 

(2.)  A  second  argument  is  founded  on  the  dependent 
nature  of  creatures.  Unlike  God,  they  have  no  ground 
of  existence  in  themselves  ;  they  cannot  of  course  by  their 
own  will  or  power  prolong  it  a  moment ;  it  depends  on 
the  will  and  power  of  God  every  successive  moment,  and 
this  is  the  doctifine  of  Scripture. 

(3.)  A  third  argument  is  founded  on  the  order  which  is 
maintained  in  the  universe.  Wlien  we  contemplate  this 
immense  system,  so  wonderful  in  its  contrivances,  so  con¬ 
stant  in  its  movements,  so  admirably  balanced,  and  pro¬ 
ceeding  from  age  to  age  without  the  slightest  confusion, 


LAWS  OF  NATURE. 


^7 


can  any  rational  man  suppose  that  there  is  no  presiding 
mind  by  which  it  is  governed  1  The  evidence  is  particu- 
lai’ly  strong  to  those  who  are  more  intimately  acquainted 
with  nature,  and  know  that,  in  the  motions  of  some  of  the 
heavenly  bodies,  there  are  occasionally  apparent  irregu- 
lai’ities,  but  that  means  are  provided  for  con-ecting  them, 
so  that  they  return  to  their  proper  place. 

50.  To  this  reasoning  it  is  objected,  that  the  order  which 
prevails  throughout  the  universe,  may  he  accounted  for 
by  the  laws  of  nature,  without  an  immediate  interposition 
of  the  Deity,  and  proves  only  the  wisdom  of  its  original 
constitution. 

But  what  is  the  true  meaning  of  a  law  of  nature  as  ap¬ 
plied  to  inanimate  things  ?  It  signifies  merely  the  stated, 
regular  order  in  which  they  are  found  to  subsist.  Matter 
can  neither  put  itself  in  motion,  nor  stop  itself  when  in 
motion  ;  and  every  modification  which  it  undergoes  is  the 
effect  of  some  external  power.  What  then  are  laws  of 
nature  1  They  are  the  particular  modes  in  which  the 
Deity  exerts  his  power,  which,  being  uniform,  are  ac¬ 
counted  natural,  while  any  deviation  from  them  is  pro¬ 
nounced  to  be  miraculous.  If  this  be  a  just  description 
of  them,  and  none  can  dispute  it,  it  follows  that  they  are 
so  far  from  accounting  for  the  order  which  is  maintained 
in  the  universe,  that  they  necessarily  imply  the  actual 
and  constant  interposition  of  the  Creator,  and  as  irresist¬ 
ibly  suggest  the  idea  of  a  lawgiver,  as  do  the  laws  of  any 
human  society.  The  truth  is,  that  the  laws  of  nature,  if 
understood  to  be  different  from  the  operations  of  the 
Deity,  are  a  name,  and  nothing  more,  with  which  simple¬ 
tons  may  be  amused ;  but  certainly  no  man  of  common 
sense,  who  is  mquiring  into  the  cause  of  the  stability  of 
the  universe,  will  deem  it  satisfactory  to  be  answered  with 
a  sound. 

For  some  other  arguments,  I'efer  to  what  is  advanced  in 
the  last  chapter  in  proof  of  the  moral  government  of  God, 
which  implies  the  doctrine  and  the  fact  of  providence. 

51.  These  arguments  prove  not  merely  a  general  super¬ 
intendence  of  the  affairs  of  the  universe,  but  particular 
care  exercised  toioard  every  constituent  part  of  it. 

Some  maintain  only  a  general  providence,  which  con¬ 
sists  in  upholding  certain  general  laws,  and  exclaim 
against  the  idea  of  a  particular  providence  which  takes  a 


28 


PROVIDENCE. 


concern  in  individuals  and  their  affairs.  It  is  strange 
that  the  latter  opinion  should  be  adopted  by  any  person 
who  professes  to  bow  to  the  authority  of  Scripture— which 
declares  that  a  sparrow  does  not  fall  to  the  ground  with¬ 
out  the  knowledge  of  our  heavenly  Father,  and  that  the 
hairs  of  our  heads  are  all  numbered  ;  or  by  any  man  who 
has  calmly  listened  to  the  dictates  of  reason. 

If  God  has  certain  designs  to  accomplish  with  respect 
to,  or  by  means  of  men,  how  can  his  intention  be  fulfilled 
without  particular  attention  to  their  circumstances,  their 
movements,  and  all  the  events  of  their  life  1  “  There  is 

no  argument  for  a  general  (says  H.  More),  but  is  also  an 
argument  for  a  particular  providence,  unless  we  can  prove 
that  the  whole  is  not  made  up  of  parts ;  that  generals  are 
not  composed  of  particulars ;  that  nations  are  not  com¬ 
pounded  of  families ;  that  societies  are  not  formed  of  in¬ 
dividuals  ;  that  chains  are  not  composed  of  links ;  that 
sums  are  not  made  up  of  units ;  that  the  interests  of  a 
community  do  not  grow  out  of  the  well-being  of  its  mem¬ 
bers.” 

52.  It  is  again  objected,  that  a  particular  pi’ovidence 
is  inconsistent  with  the  liberty  of  man,  and  with  the  gen¬ 
eral  laws  which  divine  wisdom  has  established. 

To  this  objection  it  is  sufficient  to  reply,  that  God,  hav¬ 
ing  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  laws  of  nature,  and  of 
the  operations  of  the  human  mind,  and  having  the  power 
of  influencing  the  train  of  ideas  in  the  mind  of  man,  is 
undoubtedly  able  to  direct  his  conduct  without  suspend¬ 
ing,  or  interfering  with  the  general  laws  of  nature,  or 
with  the  freedom  of  the  human  mind. 

[Prof.  Dick’s  Lectures  on  Providence.] 


48.  What  is  meant  by  the  providence  of  God  ? 

49.  What  are  some  of  the  arguments  in  proof  of  such  a  providence? 

50.  What  objection  is  usually  brought  against  the  third  argument  for  a 
particular  providence? 

51.  Do  these  arguments  prove  a  particular,  or  only  a  general  provi¬ 
dence? 

52".  What  other  strong  objection  is  advanced  against  the  doctrine  of  a 
particular  providence  ? 


CHARACTERISTICS  OF  MAN. 


29 


BOOK  11. 

THE  ACTIVE  AND  MORAL  POWERS  OF  MAN,  AND 
REMARKS  UPON  THEIR  DUE  REGULATION. 


CHAPTER  1. 

GENERAL  PRELIMINARY  VIEW  OF  THE  CHARACTER  AND 
CONDITION  OF  MAN. 

53.  I.  The  characteristics  by  which  man  is  distinguished, 
from  the  other  inhabitants  of  this  world  are  two :  he  is 
rational,  and  immortal. 

54.  While  the  inferior  animals  are  under  the  guidance 
of  instinct,  he  is  endowed  with  nobler  principles. 

Beside  appetites,  which  he  has  in  common  with  the 
brutes,  he  is  dignified  with  intellectual,  active,  and  moral 
powers,  which  they  do  not  possess.  Reason,  memory, 
and  imagination ;  desires,  affections,  and  a  moral  faculty, 
are  wonderfully  combined  in  his  nature,  and  form  a  sin¬ 
gular  and  interesting  being. 

He  can  observe,  compare,  and  judge ;  he  can  vary  his 
means,  and  suit  his  operations  to  the  circumstances  in 
which  he  is  placed.  He  can  turn  in  upon  himself,  and 
trace  the  operations  of  his  own  mind.  He  can  survey 
the  vast  system  of  the  universe ;  discover  the  laws  by 
which  it  is  governed ;  and  learn  the  attributes  of  the 
Creator  and  Governor,  from  the  woi’ks  of  his  hand.  He 
can  surround  himself  by  a  new  creation,  and  combine  in 
endless  variety  the  objects  with  which  he  is  acquainted. 
He  remembers  the  past ;  and  the  lessons  of  experience 
not  only  funiish  him  with  instructions  for  the  regulation 
of  his  present  conduct,  but  also  enable  him  to  anticipate 
what  he  may  expect  from  the  future. 

He  hopes,  and  he  fears ;  he  loves,  and  desires,  and 
pursues  ;  he  dreads,  and  he  shuns.  His  moral  faculty 
indicates  the  path  of  duty,  and  it  applauds  or  condemns. 
His  intellectual,  active,  and  moral  powers  are  finely  ad- 


80 


IMMORTALITY  OP  MAN. 


justed  to  each  other,  and  form  a  being  capable  of  much 
present  enjoyment,  and  of  vast  improvement  in  intellect¬ 
ual  and  moral  excellence. 

How  absurd  is  it  to  allege  that  undesigning  chance 
produced  such  an  intelligent  and  contriving  being  as 
Man  ! 


II. — Arg  uments  for  the  Immortality  of  Man. 

55.  (1.)  Our  first  argument  shall  he  derived  from  a 
conviction  of  our  immortality  that  seems  to  be  implanted 
in  the  human  mind,  and  which  is  confirmed  by  the  voice 
of  nature  in  her  external  phenomena. 

Oh,  listen,  man ! 

A  voice  within  us  speaks  that  startling  word, 

“  Man,  thou  shalt  never  die.”  Celestial  voices 
Hymn  it  unto  our  souls :  according  harps. 

By  angel ‘fingers  touch’d,  when  the  mild  stars 
Of  morning  sang  together,  sound  forth  still 
The  song  of  our  great  immortality  : 

Thick  clustering  orbs,  and  this  our  fair  domain, 

The  tall,  dark  mountains,  and  the  deep-toned  seas, 

Join  in  this  solemn,  universal  song. 

Oh,  listen,  ye,  our  spirits  ;  drink  it  in 

From  all  the  air  !  ’Tis  in  the  gentle  moonlight ; 

’Tis  floating  mid  day’s  setting  glories ;  Night, 

Wrapped  in  her  sable  robe,  with  silent  step 
Comes  to  our  bed  and  breathes  it  in  our  ears  ; 

Night,  and  the  dawn,  bright  day,  and  thoughtful  eve. 

All  time,  all  bounds,  the  limitless  expanse. 

As  one  vast  mystic  instrument,  are  touch’d 
By  an  unseen,  living  Hand,  and  conscious  chords 
Quiver  with  joy  in  this  great  jubilee. 

The  dying  hear  it ;  and  as  sounds  of  earth 
Grow  dull  and  distant,  wake  their  passing  souls 
To  mingle  in  this  heavenly  harmony. 

R.  H.  Dana. 

A  portion  of  this  argument,  thus  exquisitely  set  forth 
by  Dana,  will  be  amplified  under  some  of  the  following 
heads. 

(2.)  Bishop  Butler,  in  his  Analogy,  has  shown  that  there 
is  nothing  in  the  circumstances  of  the  death  of  the  body, 
or  in  the  analogy  of  nature  around  us,  to  render  man’s 
future  existence  improbable.  On  the  contrary,  he  shows 
that  the  analogy  of  nature  makes  it  probable,  that  as  we 
are  conscious  that  we  are  now  living  agents,  so  we  shall 
go  on  to  be  such,  notwithstanding  the  event  of  death, 
which,  it  is  likely,  may  only  seiwe  to  bring  us  into  new 
scenes,  and  a  new  state  of  life  and  action,  just  as  naturally 
as  we  came  into  the  present. 


IMMORTALITY  OF  THE  SOUL. 


31 


(3.)  An  argument  against  the  contemporaneous  death  of 
the  body  and  soul,  and  a  presumptive  argument  therefore 
for  the  continued  existence  of  the  soul,  notwithstanding 
the  death  of  the  body,  has  been  formed  of  this  sort : 
“  Man  at  the  age  of  twenty  retains  not  a  particle  of  the 
matter  in  which  his  mind  was  invested  when  he  was  born. 
Nevertheless  at  the  age  of  eighty  years,  he  is  conscious 
of  being  the  same  individual  he  was  as  far  back  as  his 
memory  can  go  ;  that  is  to  say,  to  the  period  when  he 
was  four  or  five  years  old.  Whatever  it  be,  therefore,  in 
which  this  consciousness  of  identity  resides,  it  cannot 
consist  of  a  material  substance,  since  it  had  been  destroyed. 
It  is,  consequently,  an  ethereal  spirit:  as  it  remains  the 
same  throughout  all  the  alterations  that  take  place  in  the 
body,  it  is  not  dependent  on  the  body  for  its  existence, 
and  it  is  calculated  to  survive  the  ever-changing  frame  in 
which  it  is  encased.” 

(4.)  It  is  argued,  that  if  the  present  were  the  only  state 
of  human  existence,  the  designs  of  the  Creator,  in  the 
formation  of  man,  would  not  be  conformable  to  the  usual 
operations  of  his  wisdom.  The  noblest  being  with  which 
we  are  acquainted  just  begins  to  evolve  faculties  which 
are  never  permitted  to  aiTive  at  their  full  vigor,  or  to  dis¬ 
play  their  full  beauty.  Other  animals  reach  the  maturity 
and  utmost  limits  of  their  powers.  Far  otherwise  is  it 
with  man.  He  is  possessed  of  many  faculties  which,  in. 
the  present  life,  are  never  or  but  partially  exerted.  This 
we  know  to  be  the  case  with  those  who  die  young,  or 
uninstructed,  that  is,  with  the  greatest  part  of  mankind  : 
and  this  is  the  case  in  some  measure  with  all. 

It  seems  to  be  a  law  pervading  sentient  beings  that  they 
must  reach  all  that  perfection,  and  enjoy  all  that  happi¬ 
ness  of  which  their  nature  is  susceptible  :  and  why  should 
man  be  considered  an  exception  to  that  law  ?  But  as 
man’s  capacity  for  improvement  is  not  exhausted  in  this 
world,  there  is  reason  from  the  analogy  of  nature  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  in  a  future  state  his  faculties  will  be  fully  ex¬ 
panded  and  attain  maturity.  Is  it  not  unreasonable  also 
to  suppose  that  a  creature  endowed  with  such  noble  fac¬ 
ulties,  and  capable  of  such  progressive  and  high  improve¬ 
ment  should,  at  once  and  forever,  be  aiTested  in  his  pro¬ 
gress  towai’d  perfection  1 

(5.)  It  is  remarkable  that  the  wisest  men  in  all  ages. 


32 


IMMOKTALITY  OF  THE  SOUE. 


and  the  greatest  part  of  men  in  all  nations,  have  believed 
that  the  soul  will  survive  the  body,  however  some  Ox 
them  may  have  disfigured  this  belief  by  vain  and  incredi¬ 
ble  fictions. 

Wlience  could  the  universal  belief  of  the  soul’s  immor¬ 
tality  arise  'I  It  is  true  that  all  men  have  believed  that 
the  sun  and  starry  heavens  revolve  about  the  earth ;  but 
this  opinion  is  easily  accounted  for,  being  warranted  by 
what  seems  to  be  the  evidence  of  sense.  It  is  also  true 
that  most  nations  have,  at  one  time  or  other,  acknowledged 
a  plurality  of  gods  ;  but  this  is  a  corruption  of  an  original 
true  opinion  :  for  it  is  highly  probable — nay,  it  appears 
from  history — that  a  belief  in  one  God  was  the  more 
ancient  opinion,  and  that  Polytheism  succeeded  to  it,  and 
was  a  corruption  of  it.  Now,  it  is  not  at  all  surprising 
that,  when  a  true  opinion  is  introduced  among  mankind, 
it  should,  in  ignorant  ages,  be  perverted  by  additional 
and  fabulous  circumstances. 

But  the  immortality  of  the  soul  is  not  a  corruption  of 
an  original  true  opinion,  nor  does  it  derive  any  support 
from  the  evidence  of  sense  :  it  is  itself  an  original  opinion, 
and  the  testimony  of  sense  seems  rather  to  declare  against 
it.  Whence,  then,  could  it  arise! 

Not  from  the  artifice  of  priests  or  of  politicians,  in  order 
to  keep  the  world  in  awe,  as  some  have  vainly  pretended  ; 
for  there  never  was  a  time  when  all  politicians  and  priests 
were  wise  and  the  rest  of  mankind  fools,  nor  when  they 
were  all  of  the  same  opinion  and  concuiTed  in  the  same 
design.  It  may  be  added  that  mankind  have  never  yet 
adopted  any  opinion  universally,  merely  upon  the  au¬ 
thority  of  politicians,  philosophers,  or  priests. 

This  opinion,  therefore,  must  have  arisen  from  a  natu¬ 
ral  suggestion  of  the  human  understanding,  or  from  a 
divine  revelation  communicated  to  our  first  parents,  and 
by  them  transmitted  to  their  posteilty.  In  either  case 
this  opinion  will  be  allowed  to  be  of  the  most  respectable 
authority. 

<  (6.)  All  men  are  formed  with  a  natural  desire  and  ex¬ 
pectation  of  immortality.  The  thought  of  being  reduced 
into  nothing  is  shocking  to  a  rational  soul.  These  hopes 
and  expectations  are  not  the  effect  of  education  ;  for  with 
a  very  few  exceptions  they  are  found  in  all  ages  and 
countries.  Neither  do  they  arise  from  self-conceit  or 


FREE  AGENCY  OF  MAN. 


33 


pride,  but  take  their  rise  from  the  original  frame  of  hu¬ 
man  nature  ;  and  if  so,  their  author  is  God  himself,  and 
they  must  be  founded  in  truth.  He  would  not  inspire  his 
creatures  with  hopes  and  wishes,  that  have  nothing  in 
nature  to  gratify  them. 

(7.)  The  apprehensions  of  wicked  men  in  regard  to  the 
punishments  of  a  future  state  have  equally  a  foundation 
in  nature.  They  seem  to  have  been  im2:)lanted  by  the 
Creator,  to  restrain  men  from  crime  in  this  life,  and  to 
operate  as  a  motive  to  virtue  ;  and  they  answer  this  pur¬ 
pose  to  a  valuable  extent. 

(8.)  Another  argument  is  founded  on  the  unequal  dis¬ 
tribution  of  good  and  evil  in  the  present  life.  This  argu¬ 
ment  is  noticed  in  a  preceding  chapter,  and  needs  not 
to  be  repeated  here. 

These  and  other  arguments  render  highly  probable  the 
doctrine  of  man’s  future  existence  after  death  :  but  no 
absolute  certainty  can  be  attained  respecting  it,  except 
by  examining  the  pages  of  that  invaluable  communication 
from  God,  which  has  “  brought  immortality  to  light 
not  only  declaring  the  fact,  but  disclosing  the  circum¬ 
stances  of  man’s  future  being,  and  thus  furnishing  the 
most  powerful  motives  to  rectitude  of  conduct  in  the 
present  life. 

So,  when  the  tomb’s  dull  silence  finds  an  end. 

The  blessed  dead  to  endless  youth  shall  rise; 

And  hear  the  archangel’s  thrilling  summons  blend 
Its  tone  with  anthems  from  the  upper  skies. 

There  shall  the  good  of  earth  be  found  at  last, 

Where  dazzling  streams  and  vernal  fields  expand — 

Where  Love  her  crown  attains— her  trials  past — 

And,  fill’d  with  rapture,  hails  the  “better  land.” 

Willis  G.  Clark. 

[Beattie;  Fergus;  S.  S.  Smith.] 

III. — Free  Agency  and  Accountalility  of  Man. 

It  has  been  shown  in  a  previous  chapter,  that  man  is 
under  a  moral  government.  To  fit  him  for  this  state  he 
is  constituted  a  free  agent.  He  is  endowed  with  intellect¬ 
ual  and  active  powers ;  he  has  judgment  to  know  the 
meaning  of  a  commandment,  and  ability  to  obey  it. 

By  moral  government,  we  understand  the  establishment 
and  operation  of  laws  for  the  direction  of  rational  beings, 
and  the  enforcing  those  laws  by  rewards  and  punish- 

15* 


34 


FREEDOM  AND  RESPONSIBILITY. 


meDts.  The  subject  of  such  a  government  must  be  a 
free  agent. 

56.  By  the  liberty  of  a  moral  agent,  we  understand  a 
power  over  the  determinations  of  liis  own  will. 

Every  man  has  a  conviction  that  he  is  free,  and  acts 
toward  others  in  the  persuasion  that  they  also  are  free. 
Our  deliberations,  purposes,  and  promises,  all  suppose 
this  liberty  in  ourselves  ;  and  our  advices,  exhortations, 
and  commands  suppose  it  in  others.  On  this  subject 
philosophers  may  talk  ;  but  consciousness  and  experience 
decide.  I  am  conscious  of  freedom,  I  can  weigh  motives 
and  desires ;  I  can  judge  which  are  most  consonant  to 
sound  reason,  and  to  my  best  interest ;  and  yet  can  de¬ 
cline  regulating  my  conduct  by  them.  I  can  choose  and 
refuse.  I  can  act  agreeably  to  the  convictions  of  my  un¬ 
derstanding,  or  I  can  pursue  a  different  course.  Advice 
and  exhortation  may  influence  conduct,  but  they  do  not 
impair  liberty.  The  same  is  the  case  with  motives  ;  they 
may  prompt  to  action,  but  they  do  not  act. 

A  necessary  agent,  whose  actions  are  as  irresistibly 
determined  by  desires  or  motives  as  a  stone  in  falling  to 
the  ground  is  by  the  great  law  of  gravitation,  cannot  be 
the  subject  of  moral  government.  He  is  incapable  of 
virtue  and  vice,  and  unfit  for  reward  and  punishment. 

57.  Moral  responsibility  is  the  subjection  of  a  moral 
agent,  that  is,  one  capable  of  moral  conduct,  to  rewards 
and  punishments.  Moral  accountability  is  the  liableness 
of  a  subject  of  law  to  the  approbation  or  disapprobation 
of  the  lawgiver,  on  the  ground  of  right,  equity,  and  truth, 

Man  is  placed  under  the  precepts  and  sanctions  of  law, 
as  has  been  briefly  shown  on  preceding  pages.  One  of 
the  great  characteristics  of  that  law  is  utility  ;  or,  in  other- 
words,  it  prescribes  what  the  Deity,  in  his  boundless 
wisdom,  saw  would  be  best,  not  merely  for  one  or  a  few 
individuals,  but  for  all;  best  for  all  if  all  were  to  obey  it. 
Abundant  proof  of  this  position  will  be  found  in  the  latter 
part  of  this  volume,  in  the  comments  on  the  Ten  Com¬ 
mandments. 

58.  This  law,  to  some  extent,  is  intimated  to  us  by 
reason  and  the  moral  faculty,  and  by  an  observation  of 
the  course  of  nature. 

Reason  (the  faculty  by  which  we  distinguish  truth  from 
error,  and  combine  means  for  the  attainment  of  ends). 


MORAL  AGENCY. 


35 


pondering  all  the  phenomena,  instructs  us  to  revere  the 
Deity  ;  to  exercise  justice,  candor,  and  mercy  toward  our 
fellow-men ;  and  to  cherish  temperance,  fortitude,  and 
diligence  in  our  several  avocations. 

But,  for  the  discovery  of  the  great  outlines  of  the  will 
of  God  and  duty  of  man,  we  are  not  left  to  the  exercise 
of  reason  alone. 

Conscience,  or  the  moral  faculty  (that  by  which  we 
distinguish  between  right  and  wrong),  comes  in  to  the  aid 
of  reason  ;  and  by  reason  and  conscience  all  men  may 
perceive  the  great  features  of  moral  law.  Accordingly, 
there  are  certain  dispositions  and  actions  which  have 
been  always  applauded  or  commended,  and  others  which 
as  generally  have  been  the  subjects  of  censure  and  de¬ 
testation.  All  men  approve  of  piety,  benevolence,  integ¬ 
rity,  veracity,  temperance,  fortitude,  industry  :  all  men 
disapprove  of  contrary  dispositions  and  conduct.  Reason 
and  the  moral  faculty  may  be  perverted.  This  perver¬ 
sion  however  results  from  the  abuse  of  free  agency ;  and 
for  it,  mankind  have  themselves  to  blame. 

Man  is  a  free  agent ;  but  his  body,  his  mind,  and  nature 
around  him,  are  so  constituted,  that  if  he  exercise  his 
freedom  in  an  irregular,  capricious  manner,  in  defiance 
of  the  dictates  of  reason  and  conscience,  he  must  suffer  a 
corresjionding  loss  of  happiness,  or  degree  of  pain. 

59.  IV.  Man,  even  in  his  present  state,  is  happy  or 
unhappy,  rewarded  or  punished,  as  he  obeys  or  disobeys 
the  law.  This  demonstration  of  a  moral  government  has 
been  treated  in  Book  I.  chap.  3.  See  also  Fergus  on 
Nature  and  Revelation,  Book  III.  chap.  5. 

60.  V.  Exercise  and  trial  are  powerful  means  of  im¬ 

provement,  and  sources  of  happiness.  The  constitution 
of  nature,  and  the  government  of  the  Creator,  are  such  as 
to  call  forth  our  bodily  exertions,  and  to  solicit  and  en¬ 
courage  the  exercise  of  our  intellectual  and  moral  capaci¬ 
ties.  Under  these  trials,  if  we  act  wisely.  We  shall  make 
the  most  rapid  progress  in  improvement.  In  this  pro¬ 
gress,  the  present  life  soon  comes  to  a  close ;  but  we  are 
immortal  beings,  and  we  have  reason  to  think  that  there 
is  an  intimate  connection  between  the  present  and  the 
future,  and  that  the  great  scheme,  which  is  evidently 
going  on  at  present,  will  be  continued  in  a  future  state  of 
being.  [Fergus] 


86 


VOLUNTARY  PRINCIPLE. 


53.  Prominent  characteristics  by  which  man  is  honorably  disting:uished 
from  the  other  inhabitants  of  this  world  '{ 

54.  Asa  rational  being,  how  is  he  distinguished  from  other  animals? 

55.  What  are  some  of  the  arguments  by  which  we  satisfy  ourselves,  in¬ 
dependently  of  revelation,  that  man  is  destined  to  be  an  immortal  being? 

56.  What  do  we  understand  by  the  liberty  of  a  moral  agent? 

57.  What  do  we  understand  by  the  responsibility  and  accountability  of 
man  ? 

58.  How  far  is  this  law  intimated  to  us  by  reason  and  the  moral  fac¬ 
ulty  ;  and  how  far  does  the  course  of  nature  countenance  and  support  it  ? 

59.  On  what  does  the  happiness  of  man,  in  the  present  state,  greatly 
depend  ? 

60.  Of  what  service  to  man  is  the  present  state  of  probation  and  disci¬ 
pline  in  which  he  is  placed  ? 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  VOLUNTARY  PRINCIPLE. 

SECTION  I.— ITS  NATURE  AND  OPERATION. 

61.  The  voluntary  principle  is  that  power  of  the  mind 
by  which  it  determines  to  act,  or  not  to  act,  in  those  cases 
which  depend  on  its  own  determination  :  the  act  of  the 
mind  in  thus  determining,  is  denominated  volition. 

The  will  must  be  influenced  before  any  active  energy 
is  put  forth  :  it  becomes  important  therefore  to  ascertain 
those  principles  of  our  nature  which,  on  account  of  their 
exerting  this  influence,  have  been  termed  active  and 
moral ;  and  to  the  operation  of  which  we  trace  every 
virtue  and  every  crime,  from  the  deeds  of  beneficence  by 
which  the  names  of  joatriots  and  legislators  have  been  con¬ 
secrated,  to  the  guilty  ambition  which  treads  in  blood  to 
the  attainment  of  its  object. 

62.  Those  human  actions  which  are  performed  inde¬ 
pendently  of  an  act  of  the  will,  are  termed  involuntary. 

There  are  others  which,  because  they  partake  of  the 
nature  of  voluntary  and  involuntary  actions,  are  called 
mixed;  they  are  under  the  power  of  the  will,  but  are 
generally  performed  without  it. 

Voluntary  actions  may  be  distinguished  from  all  others 
by  this,  that  they  are  done  with  a  view  to  some  object ; 
and  proceed  from  the  volitions  of  a  being  possessing  reason 
and  intelligence  ;  whereas  those  which  result  from  the 
principles  called  instincts,  are  generally,  if  not  always,  cer- 


RELATION  OF  MOTIVES  TO  VOLITION. 


37 


formed  without  any  previous  conception  of  them.  This 
remark  applies  also  to  things  which,  though  originally 
done  by  conscious  volition,  are  afterward  performed  by 
habit.  Thus  we  often  shut  and  open  our  eyes  without 
the  consciousness  of  any  such  operation. 

63.  Whatever  incites  man  to  act  is  called  a  principle 
of  action.  It  is  difficult  to  give  a  complete  enumeration 
of  the  various  exciting  causes  by  which  all  men  are  influ¬ 
enced.  It  is  to  be  observed  also  that  the  same  train  of 
actions  may  proceed  from  different  principles  :  and  again, 
actions  which  seem  to  spring  from  one  or  two  principles 
may  actually  proceed  from  many. 

[Dewar’s  Moral  Philosophy.] 

64.  The  chief  springs  of  action  in  the  constitution  of 
man  are,  the  appetites  ;  the  affections ;  the  desires ;  the 
moral  faculty,  or  conscience. 

The  nature  of  these  we  shall  briefly  set  forth,  after 
offering  an  explanation  of  the  influence  of  motives. 


61.  How  may  this  principle  be  described? 

62.  With  respect  to  the  will,  how  are  human  actions  distinguished? 

63.  What  do  philosophers  mean  by  a  principle  of  action  ? 

64.  What  are  the  chief  principles  or  springs  of  action,  in  the  constitution 
of  man  ? 


SECTION  II.— INFLUENCE  OF  MOTIVES. 

Nature  of  the  relation  between  Volition  and  the  circumstances  on 
which  its  regularity  depends. 

65.  The  circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed,  in  so  far 
as  volition  is  regulated  by  them,  are  usually  called  motives. 
Motives  therefore  are  not  a  distinct  set  of  entities  (exist¬ 
ences),  but  any  kind  of  entities  whatsoever  that  influence 
volition.  Pleasure,  for  instance,  may  be  a  motive  ;  friend¬ 
ship,  or  enmity  may  be  a  motive  ;  a  favorable  season  may 
be  a  motive,  an  unfavorable  season  may  be  a  motive  ;  fire, 
water,  snow,  and  ice,  may  each  be  a  motive.  In  short, 
everything  in  the  universe  which  the  mind  can  conceive, 
may  become  a  motive. 

66.  The  relation  between  motives  and  volitions  may  be 
understood  from  the  following  observations : — 

(1-)  Nothing  can  be  regarded  as  a  motive  unless  we 
have  some  knoivledge  of  it. 

(2.)  Motives  do  not  operate  p)hysically  or  spontaneously , 


38 


OFFICE  OF  MOTIVES. 


or  necessarily.  So  far  as  anything  acts  physically,  it  is 
never  styled  a  motive. 

(3.)  Motives  do  not  supersede  our  own  agency.  If  an 
organic  impression  excite  a  sensation,  or  an  interesting 
perception  excite  an  emotion,  we  are  not  active,  hwt  pas¬ 
sive  ;  we  do  not  act,  but  are  acted  upon.  But  the  case  is 
totally  different  where  motives  are  concerned.  JVe  our¬ 
selves  then  act ;  and  motives,  instead  of  destroying,  or 
even  impairing  our  agency,  only  afford  us  an  opportunity 
of  rightly  exerting  it.  If  a  person,  for  instance,  give  a 
dollar  for  the  relief  of  the  distressed,  the  relief  is  the  mo¬ 
tive  of  his  gift,  but  the  action  is  nevertheless  his  own,  and 
his  agency  in  it  is  not  in  the  slightest  degi’ee  impaired  by 
its  proceeding  from  a  motive. 

67.  Motives  occur  on  all  occasions,  and  must  be  of 
some  use.  Their  only  office,  we  suppose,  is  to  afford 
knowledge  to  the  understanding ,  and  thus  direct  us  in  the 
exercise  of  volition.  In  reality,  if  they  neither  act  as  phys¬ 
ical  causes,  nor  impair  our  own  agency,  it  is  impossible 
to  conceive  them  to  have  any  other  office ;  and  when  we 
look  to  facts,  we  find  that  this  is  the  very  office  to  which 
they  are  applied. 

A  person,  for  example,  informs  us  that  if  we  pursue  a 
certain  line  of  conduct,  we  shall  experience  ;  that  if 
we  pursue  another,  we  shall  experience  evil.  In  conse¬ 
quence  of  this  information  we  choose  the  former  and 
avoid  the  latter,  and  the  information  is  styled  the  motive 
of  our  choice.  But  nothing  seems  more  evident  than  that 
the  information  does  not  act  on  our  will  at  all :  it  merely 
giv^es  us  passive  knowledge,  according  to  which  we  our¬ 
selves  choose  to  act. 

A  connection  certainly  exists  between  motives  and  the 
will ;  but  it  is  not  a  physical — it  is  merely  a  voluntary 
connection  (some  would  call  it  a  moral  one),  and  is  oc¬ 
casioned  by  the  will  itself.  In  other  words,  man  himself 
chooses  to  act  according  to  the  knowledge  which  motives 
afford,  and  thus  establishes  a  connection  between  them 
and  his  choice. 

68.  It  may  be  said,  by  way  of  objection,  that  motives 
possess  different  degrees  of  power,  and  their  different  de¬ 
grees  of  power  can  be  nothing  but  their  different  degrees 
of  influence  on  the  will. 

This  objection  is  easily  answered.  Motives  obtain 


INFLUENCE  OF  MOTIVES. 


39 


from  us  different  degrees  oi preference  ;  and  it  is  these  de¬ 
grees  of  preference  that  constitute  what  are  called  their 
degrees  of  power.  The  expressions  then,  moral  power 
and  power  of  motives,  though  convenient,  are  really  a  spe¬ 
cies  of  misnomer,  and  are  to  be  understood  in  the  manner 
we  have  defined. 

It  appears  also  from  this  discussion  that  the  mind,  in 
view  of  the  motive,  and  not  the  motive,  begins  the  partic¬ 
ular  results  that  take  place,  and  consequently,  in  the  strict 
and  proper  sense  of  the  expression,  is  their  source. 

69.  Though  in  the  use  of  volition  we  are  not  restricted 
to  a  particular  course  of  action,  it  by  no  means  follows 
that  we  shall  conduct  ourselves  contingently  or  at  random. 
On  the  contrary,  being  intelligent,  as  well  as  free  agents, 
W’e  will  certainly  conduct  ourselves  according  to  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  in  which  we  find  ourselves  placed. 

It  may  be  added,  that  to  act  according  to  a  motive,  is 
merely  to  perform  an  action  for  the  attainment  or  accom¬ 
plishment  of  something  which  the  motive  presents  to  us. 

[Ballantyne’s  Examination  of  the  Human  Mind.] 

70.  “External  motives  are  not  of  such  a  nature,  that 
volitions  of  a  certain  character  invariably  proceed  from 
them,  independently  of  the  nature,  and  state,  and  feelings 
of  the  mind,  which  acts  in  view  of  them.  But  if  a  motive 
has  any  influence  on  the  determination  of  the  will,  it  is  one 
of  the  antecedents  on  which  the  volition  depends.  Yet 
if  it  is  an  external  object,  it  is  not  the  immediate  antece¬ 
dent.  This  is  an  act  or  state  of  the  mind.  An  executive 
volition  must  be  preceded  by  an  emotion.  This  is  an  act 
or  state  of  the  mind.  Before  this  emotion  can  be  felt, 
there  must  be  an  apprehension  of  the  object.  This  is  also 
a  state  of  the  mind.  Apprehension  and  emotion  must 
both  intervene,  between  the  external  object  and  the  voli¬ 
tion.  The  object  then  can  have  no  influence  on  the  voli¬ 
tion,  except  by  influencing  the  mind ;  in  other  words, 
there  must  be  not  only  a  motive,  but  an  agent.  The 
agent  does  not  will  without  motives ;  nor  do  motives  will 
without  an  agent.” 

71.  “  The  concurrence  of  the  mind,  in  giving  efficacy 
to  motives,  is  evident  from  the  fact,  that  the  same  external 
object  will  excite  in  different  minds,  or  even  in  the  same 
mind  at  different  times,  very  different  feelings,  and  lead 
to  very  different  choices. 


40 


INFLUENCE  OF  KNOWLEDGE. 


The  influence  of  an  external  motive  (or  the  action  of 
the  mind  in  view  of  it)  will  vary  with  the  state  of  the 
mind  to  which  it  is  presented.  And  the  feelings  excited 
in  the  mind  will  vary  as  the  objects  before  it  are  changed. 
If  motives  and  the  state  of  the  mind  are  not  both  concern¬ 
ed,  in  determining  the  acts  of  the  will,  then  they  must  be 
determined  either  by  the  mind  alone,  so  that  whatever  be 
the  motives  presented,  its  volitions  will  be  the  same ;  or 
by  motives  alone,  so  that  whatever  be  the  state  of  mind, 
the  volitions  will  be  the  same.”  [Day  on  the  Will.] 


C5.  How  may  the  term  motives  be  defined  ? 

66.  By  what  observations  will  the  way  be  prepared  to  understand  the 
relation  between  motives  and  volition? 

67.  What  then  is  the  office  of  motives  ? 

68.  What  objection  may  be  advanced  against  the  view  of  motives  now 
given  ? 

6U.  May  it  not  be  objected  to  this  doctrine  that  the  mind  will  thus  act 
at  random  and  contingently  ? 

70.  What  influence  upon  our  choice  is  exerted  by  the  state  or  feelmgs 
of  the  mind  ? 

71.  How  does  it  appear  that  a  concurrence  of  the  mind  is  necessary  in 
giving  efficacy  to  motives  ? 

SECTION  III.— INFLUENCE  EXERTED  UPON  THE  WILL,  BY  KxNOWL- 
EDGE,  ATTENTION,  AND  MORAL  HABITS. 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  will  of  individuals 
is  influenced  difterently  with  the  same  motives  before 
them.  The  principles  on  which  this  fact  can  be  explain¬ 
ed,  may  be  referred  to  the  three  heads  of  Knowledge, 
Attention,  and  Moral  Habits. 

(1.)  Injlue7ice  of  Knowledge. 

72.  A  primary  and  most  essential  element  in  the  due 
regulation  of  the  will  is  a  correct  knowledge  of  the 
truths  and  motives  which  tend  to  influence  its  determi¬ 
nations. 

73.  The  highest  class  of  these  comprehends  the  truths 
of  religious  belief — a  series  of  moral  causes,  the  tenden¬ 
cies  of  which  are  of  the  most  important  kind,  and  calcu¬ 
lated  to  exert  a  uniform  influence  upon  every  man  who 
surrenders  himself  to  their  guidance. 

74.  The  sacred  writers  speak  in  the  strongest  terms  of 
the  guilt  attached  to  voluntary  ignorance ;  and  this  guilt 
must  be  evident  to  every  one  who  considers  the  clearness 
with  which  the  highest  truths  are  disclosed,  and  the  in- 


INFLUENCE  OF  ATTENTION. 


41 


controvertible  evidence  by  w^bicli  they  are  supported. 
This  remark  applies  equally  to  the  principles,  both  of  nat¬ 
ural  and  of  revealed  religion. 

75.  The  important  truths  of  natural  religion  are  partly 
matters  of  the  most  simple  induction  from  the  phenome¬ 
na  of  nature  which  are  continually  before  us,  and  partly 
impressed  upon  our  own  moral  constitution  in  the  clear¬ 
est  manner. 

From  these  two  sources  may  be  gained  a  knowledge, 
to  some  valuable  extent,  of  the  character  of  the  Creator, 
and  of  our  relation  to  him  as  moral  beings;  and  the  man 
is  left  entirely  without  excuse  who  fails  to  direct  to  them 
his  most  earnest  attention,  and  to  make  the  impressions 
derived  from  them  the  habitual  rule  of  his  volitions,  and 
the  guide  of  his  whole  character. 

76.  The  truths  of  revealed  religion  are  supported  by  a 
weight  of  miraculous  evidence,  and  are  transmitted  To  us 
by  a  chain  of  testimony,  carrying  absolute  conviction  to 
the  mind  of  every  candid  inquirer.  They  are  further 
confirmed  by  probability  and  a  force  of  internal  evidence, 
which  fix  themselves  upon  the  moral  feelings  of  every 
sound  mind  with  irresistible  power. 

The  whole  is  addressed  to  us  as  rational  beings  ;  it  is 
pressed  upon  our  attention  as  creatures  destined  for  an¬ 
other  state  of  existence ;  and  the  duty  is  imposed  upon 
every  individual  seriously  to  examine  and  to  consider. 

77.  Every  man  is  in  the  highest  degree  responsible  for 
the  care  with  which  he  has  informed  himself  of  these 
evidences,  and  for  the  attention  with  which  he  has  given 
to  every  part  of  them  its  due  weight  in  the  solemn 
inquiry. 

He  is  further  responsible  for  the  influence  of  any  pre¬ 
viously  formed  prejudice,  or  any  degree  of  that  vitiated 
state  of  his  moral  feelings,  which  prevents  him  from 
approaching  the  subject  with  the  simplicity  of  an  uncon¬ 
taminated  mind. 

(2.)  Influence  of  Attention. 

78.  Next  to  the  acquisition  of  that  knowledge  which  is 
adapted  best  to  act  upon  us  as  moral  beings,  is  the  im¬ 
portant  rule  of  habitually  attending  to  it,  when  acquired, 
so  as  to  bring  its  influence  to  bear  upon  our  volitions. 

79.  Such  attention  is  a  voluntary  act;  for  when  a  par- 


42 


HARMONY  OF  MORAL  FEELINGS. 


ticular  desire  is  present  to  a  person’s  mind,  he  has  the 
power  to  act  upon  the  first  impulse,  or  upon  a  very  partial 
and  limited,  perhaps  a  distorted,  view  of  the  considei'a- 
tions  and  motives  by  which  he  ought  to  be  influenced  ; 
and  he  has  the  power  to  suspend  acting,  and  direct  his 
attention  deliberately  and  fully  to  the  facts  and  principles 
which  are  calculated  to  guide  his  determination.  This  is 
the  first  great  step  in  that  chain  of  sequences  which  belong 
to  the  regulation  of  the  will ;  and  the  power  to  take  this 
step  constitutes  man  a  free  and  responsible  agent. 

80.  When  the  desire  or  inclination  is  suffered  to  engross 
the  mind  and  occupy  fully  the  attention  ;  when  the  power 
is  not  exercised  of  directing  it  to  moral  causes  and  mo¬ 
tives,  and  of  comparing  with  them  the  inclination  which 
is  present,  the  consequence  may  be  that  the  man  runs 
heedlessly  into  volition  and  action,  from  which  the  due 
exercise  of  this  process  of  mind  might  have  preserved 
him. 

81.  The  moral  causes  maybe  so  far  attended  to  as  to  pre¬ 
vent  the  inclination  from  being  followed  by  action;  while 
the  inclination  is  still  cherished,  and  the  mind  is  allowed 
to  dwell  with  a  certain  feeling  of  regret  on  the  object  which 
it  had  been  obliged  to  deny  itself. 

Though  the  actual  deed  be  thus  prevented,  the  harmony 
of  the  moral  feelings  is  destroyed;  for  this  consists  in  the 
desires  and  affections,  as  well  as  conduct,  being  in  strict 
subjection  to  the  indications  of  an  enlightened  conscience, 
and  the  principles  of  moral  rectitude.  The  inclination, 
thus  cherished,  gradually  acquires  greater  ascendency 
over  the  moi'al  feelings ;  the  attention  is  less  and  less 
directed  to  the  moral  truths  and  motives  which  are  opposed 
to  it ;  the  inclination  at  length  acquires  the  predominance, 
and  is  followed  by  volition.  This  is  to  be  carried  away 
by  passion.  This  is  vice.  In  the  whole  of  this  course  each 
movement  of  the  mind  is  felt  to  be  entirely  voluntary. 

Moral  causes,  in  this  manner,  gradually  lose  their  power 
over  the  volitions  or  determinations  of  the  mind  ;  and  at 
a  certain  period  of  this  progress,  the  judgment  itself  comes 
to  be  changed  respecting  the  moral  aspect  of  the  deed. 

82.  There  is  still  another  mental  condition,  in  which 
the  harmony  of  the  moral  feelings  may  be  destroyed, 
without  the  action  following. 

This  takes  place  when  the  inclination  is  cherished,  as 


FORMATION  OF  MORAL  HABITS. 


43 


in  the  former  case,  in  opposition  to  the  indications  of  con¬ 
science,  while  the  action  is  opposed  by  some  inferior 
motives — as  a  regard  to  reputation  or  interest ;  a  regard 
to  health  or  character. 

83.  The  deed  may  thus  be  prevented,  and  the  interests 
of  society  may  receive  benefit  from  the  difference ;  but, 
so  far  as  regards  the  individual  himself,  the  disruption  of 
moral  harmony  is  the  same  ;  and  his  moral  aspect  must 
be  similar  in  the  eye  of  the  Almighty  One  ;  for  by  this 
conduct,  merely  one  selfish  feeling  is  balanced  by  another. 

[Abercrombie.] 

[See  Chapter  V.  for  further  remarks  upon  the  will,  and 
upon  the  uniformity  of  moral  causes.] 

(3.)  Formation  and  Influence  of  Moral  Habits. 

84.  A  moral  habit  is  a  mental  condition,  in  which  a 
desire,  or  an  affection,  repeatedly  acted  on,  is,  after  each 
repetition,  acted  upon  with  less  and  less  effort ;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  a  truth  or  moral  principle,  which  has  been 
repeatedly  passed  over  without  adequate  attention,  after 
every  such  act  makes  less  and  less  impression,  until  at 
length  it  ceases  to  exert  any  influence  over  the  moral 
feelings  or  the  conduct. 

85.  Habits  of  vice  are  formed  in  the  following  manner. 
At  first  a  vicious  deed  requires  an  effort,  and  a  powerful 
contest  with  moral  principles;  and  it  is  speedily  followed 
by  that  feeling  of  regret  to  which  superficial  observers 
give  the  name  of  repentance.  This  is  the  voice  of  con¬ 
science  ;  but  its  power  is  more  and  more  diminished  after 
each  repetition  of  the  deed  ;  even  the  judgment  becomes 
perverted  respecting  the  first  great  principles  of  moral 
rectitude  ;  and  acts  which  at  first  occasioned  a  violent 
conflict  are  gone  into  without  remorse,  or  almost  without 
perception  of  their  moral  aspect. 

A  man  in  this  situation  may  still  retain  the  knowledge 
of  truths  and  principles  which  at  one  time  exerted  an 
influence  over  his  conduct ;  but  they  are  now  matters  of 
memory  alone.  Their  power  as  moral  causes  is  gone ; 
they  are  viewed  perhaps  as  superstitions  of  the  vulgar,  or 
the  prejudices  of  a  contracted  education — whereas  such 
a  conception  of  them  is  only  proof  of  the  increasing  moral 
degradation  and  danger  of  the  one  who  indulges  it. 

86.  The  principle  of  habit  applies  to  any  species  of 


44 


INFLUENCE  OF  MORAL  HABITS. 


conduct,  or  any  train  of  mental  operations,  which,  hy  fre¬ 
quent  repetition,  has  become  so  familiar  as  not  to  be 
accompanied  by  a  recognition  of  the  principles  from 
which  they  originally  sprung. 

In  this  manner  good  habits  are  continued  without  any 
immediate  sense  of  the  right  principles  by  which  they 
were  formed  ;  but  they  arose  from  a  frequent  and  uniform 
acting  upon  these  principles ;  and  on  this  is  founded  the 
moral  approbation  which  we  attach  to  habits  of  this 
description. 

In  the  same  manner  habits  of  vice,  and  habits  of  inat¬ 
tention  to  any  class  of  duties,  are  perpetuated  without  a 
sense  of  the  principles  and  affections  which  they  violate ; 
but  this  arose  from  afi'equent  violation  of  these  principles, 
and  a  frequent  repulsion  of  these  affections  until  they 
gi’adually  lost  their  power  over  the  conduct ;  and  in  this 
consists  the  guilt  of  vicious  habits. 

87.  Character  consists  in  a  great  measure  in  habits  ; 
and  habits  arise  out  of  individual  actions,  and  individual 
operations  of  the  mind. 

88.  Hence  may  be  learned  the  importance  of  carefully 
weighing  every  action  of  our  lives,  and  every  train  of 
thought  that  we  encourage  in  our  minds ;  for  we  never 
can  determine  the  effect  of  a  single  act,  or  a  single  men¬ 
tal  process,  in  giving  that  influence  to  the  character,  or 
to  the  moral  condition,  the  result  of  which  shall  be  de¬ 
cisive  and  permanent.  Hence,  in.  an  important  sense, 
every  man  becomes  the  master  of  his  own  moral  des- 
tiny. 

89.  When  the  judgment,  influenced  by  the  indications 
of  conscience,  is  convinced  of  the  injurious  nature  of  the 
habit,  the  attention  must  be  steadily  and  habitually  direct¬ 
ed  to  this  impression.  There  will  thus  arise  a  desire  to 
be  delivered  from  the  habit ;  or,  in  other  words,  to  culti¬ 
vate  the  course  of  action  that  is  opposed  to  it. 

.This  desire,  being  cherished  in  the  mind,  is  then  made 
to  bear  upon  every  individual  case  in  which  a  propensity 
is  felt  toward  particular  actions ;  at  first  with  difficulty, 
but,  after  every  instance  of  success,  less  effort  is  required, 
until  at  length  the  new  course  of  action  is  confirmed,  and 
overpowers  the  habit  to  which  it  was  opposed. 

But  that  this  result  may  take  place,  it  is  necessary  that 
the  mental  process  be  followed  that  has  been  referred  to ; 


NEED  OF  DIVINE  AID. 


45 


for  bad  habits  may  be  long  suspended  by  some  power¬ 
ful  exti’insic  influence,  Avliile  they  are  in  no  degree 
broken. 

90.  The  mind  often  sinks  into  a  state  of  vicious  habit, 
in  which  there  is  such  a  disruption  of  its  moral  har¬ 
mony,  that  no  power  appears  in  the  mind  itself  capable  of 
restoring  it  to  a  mental  condition.  This  has  been  no¬ 
ticed  even  by  heathen  philosophers.  In  such  a  wretched 
state,  either  the  evil  is  to  be  regarded  as  hopeless,  or  aid 
is  to  be  acquired  from  some  foreign  source. 

91.  We  are  thus  led  to  notice  the  adaptation  and  the 
probability  of  the  'provisions  of  Christianity ,  where  an 
influence  is  indeed  disclosed  to  us,  capable  of  restoring 
the  harmony  that  has  been  lost,  and  of  raising  man  anew 
to  his  proper  place  as  a  moral  being. 

92.  We  cannot  hesitate  to  believe  that  the  Power  w'ho 
framed  the  wondrous  fabric  may  condescend  to  hold  in¬ 
tercourse  with  it  for  the  purpose  of  redeeming  it  from 
moral  disorder  and  ruin.  It  accords  with  our  best  con¬ 
ceptions  of  the  benevolence  of  Deity,  that  he  should  thus 
look  upon  his  creatures  in  the  hour  of  need  ;  and  the  sys¬ 
tem  disclosing  such  communication  appears,  upon  every 
principle  of  sound  philosophy,  to  be  one  of  harmony, 
consistency,  and  truth. 

93.  This  course  of  remark  directs  our  attention  to  that 
inward  change,  so  often  the  scoff  of  the  profane,  but  to 
which  so  prominent  a  place  is  assigned  in  the  sacred 
writings,  in  which  a  man  is  said  to  be  created  anew  by 
a  power  fi-om  heaven,  and  elevated  in  his  whole  views 
and  feelings  as  a  moral  being. 

94.  Sound  philosophy  teaches  us,  that  there  is  a  state 
in  which  nothing  less  than  such  a  complete  transforma¬ 
tion  can  restore  the  man  to  a  healthy  moral  condition, 
and  that,  for  producing  it,  nothing  will  avail  but  an  influ¬ 
ence  from  without  the  mind — a  might  and  a  power  from 
the  same  Almighty  One  that  originally  framed  it.  Phi- 
losojfliy  teaches,  in  the  clearest  manner,  that  a  portion  of 
mankind  require  such  a  transformation ;  Christianity  in¬ 
forms  us  that  it  is  required  by  all.  And  who,  that  places 
himself  in  the  presence  of  a  being  of  Infinite  Purity,  will 
say  he  requires  not  such  a  change  % 

95.  This  needful  aid  from  Deity  may  be  looked  for 
only  when  it  is  sought  under  a  deep  conviction  of  its 


46 


PROPER  USE  OF  EVENTS. 


necessity  ;  and  when  the  most  serious  attention  is  ren¬ 
dered  to  those  moral  truths  that  are  adapted  to  operate 
favorably  upon  the  habits  and  character ;  and  vv^hen  the 
will  is  surrendered  to  the  suggestions  of  conscience. 

It  is  to  be  looked  for  only  in  connection  with,  and  in 
furtherance  of,  our  own  most  vigorous  exertions  as 
rational  and  moral  beings  to  secure  moral  harmony  in 
our  mental  operations  and  conduct. 

96.  From  every  occurrence  in  life  we  should  take  oc¬ 
casion  to  practice  some  virtue,  and  cherish  some  good 
habit.  Few  occurrences  are  so  uninteresting  as  to  call 
forth  no  affection  ;  most  of  them  excite  either  a  good  or 
a  bad  one.  Adversity  may  make  us  discontented,  or  it 
may  teach  humility  and  patience.  Affliction  may  dispose 
either  to  pious  resignation,  or  to  impious  repining.  Pros¬ 
perity  may  inflame  sensuality  and  pride,  or  may  supply 
the  means  of  exercising  moderation,  beneficence,  and 
gratitude  to  the  Giver  of  all  good.  Injury  may  provoke 
hatred  and  revenge,  or  call  forth  the  godlike  virtues  of 
forbearance  and  forgiveness.  Solitude  may  infuse  lazi¬ 
ness,  or  afford  leisure  for  industry.  The  bustle  of  busy 
life  may  form  habits  of  cunning  or  candor,  of  selfishness 
or  generosity. 

On  these,  and  all  other  occasions,  we  must  shun  the 
criminal,  and  embrace  tbe  virtuous,  affection.  We  should 
study  our  own  tempei',  and  so  anticipate  the  events  of 
life  as  to  be  always  ready  to  turn  in  this  manner  every 
occurrence  to  a  good  account,  and  make  it  subservient  to 
the  cultivation  of  our  moral  nature,  [Abercrombie.] 


72.  What  is  the  primary  and  most  essential  element  in  the  due  regula¬ 
tion  of  the  will  ? 

73.  What  is  the  highest  class  of  truths,  or  motives? 

74.  Is  there  any  obligation  resting  upon  us  to  acquire  a  correct  knowl¬ 
edge  of  these  truths? 

75.  How  are  the  truths  of  natural  religion  disclosed? 

76.  What  claims  have  the  truths  of  revealed  religion  to  our  regard  ? 

77.  How  far  is  a  man  responsible  in  relation  to  the  evidences  of  re¬ 
vealed  religion,  and  the  moral  causes  embraced  in  it? 

78.  What  duty  in  regard  to  attention  is  binding  upon  us? 

79.  Is  such  attention  a  voluntary  act  ? 

80.  What  is  the  consequence  of  neglecting  this  voluntary  process? 

81.  What  other  course  of  peculiar  interest  is  sometimes  adopted? 

82.  What  other  mental  condition  is  yet  to  be  mentioned  in  connection 
with  this  subject 

83.  What  is  the  moral  character  of  such  a  mental  state  ? 

84.  What  is  meant  by  a  moral  habit  ? 

85.  How  are  habits  of  vice  formed  ? 


THE  APPETITES. 


47 


86.  To  what  conduct  does  the  principle  of  habit  apply  ? 

87.  How  then  is  character  originated '! 

88.  What  practical  inference  is  to  be  drawn  from  the  fact  that  charac¬ 
ter  arises  from  individual  actions  ? 

89.  How  must  habits  of  an  injurious  character  be  subdued? 

90.  What  other  condition  of  mind  deserves  attention? 

91.  What  foreign  aid  is  most  efficacious  toward  a  moral  reformation  ? 

92.  What  probability  is  there  that  the  Deity  would  furnish  such  needful 
and  appropriate  aid  to  fallen  man  ? 

93.  To  what  moral  fact  does  this  reasoning  direct  our  attention? 

94.  How  far  do  sound  philosophy  and  Christianity  concur  in  regard  to 
this  change  ? 

95.  When  may  this  needful  divine  aid  be  looked  for  ? 

96.  What  practical  use  should  be  made  of  the  various  occurrences  of 
human  life  ? 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  APPETITES. 

97.  The  appetites  are  tendencies  toward  certain  bodily 
things,  and  cravings  for  these  things  when  they  are  with¬ 
held. 

98.  The  strongest  of  these  appetites  are  those  which 
are  common  to  man  and  brutes.  These  are  the  appetite 
for  food  (hunger  and  thirst),  by  which  the  individual  is 
sustained ;  and  the  appetite  of  sex,  or  that  by  which  the 
species  is  continued.  Without  them,  reason  would  have 
been  insufficient  for  these  important  purposes. 

99.  To  the  appetites  just  mentioned,  may  be  added, 
the  desire  of  rest  after  labor  ;  the  desire  of  sleep  after 
long  waking  ;  the  desire  of  warmth  and  shelter,  of  air 
and  exercise. 

Beside  our  natural  appetites,  we  have  some  acquired 
ones  :  such  is  the  appetite  for  tobacco,  for  opium,  and 
other  intoxicating  drugs. 

100.  Those  which  we  possess  in  common  with  the 
lower  animals,  are  implanted  in  us  for  important  pur¬ 
poses  ;  but  they  require  to  be  kept  under  the  most  rigid 
control,  both  of  reason  and  the  moral  faculty.  When 
they  are  allowed  to  break  through  these  restraints,  and 
become  leading  springs  of  action,  they  form  a  character 
the  lowest  in  the  scale,  whether  intellectual  or  moral. 

Though  our  appetites  are  possessed  by  us  in  common 
with  the  inferior  animals,  yet,  their  operation  is  exalted 
and  modified,  in  consequence  of  the  other  princioles  with 


48 


THE  AFFECTIONS. 


which  in  our  nature  they  are  allied,  so  that,  where  con¬ 
siderations  of  duty  and  expediency  are  regarded,  their 
indulgence  is  accompanied  by  other  and  higher  sources 
of  enjoyment.  ,  [See  Dewar,  vol.  i.  pp.  363-3C8.] 

The  proper  regulation  of  appetite  is  the  triumph  of 
civilization  and  religion.  There  are  many  circumstances 
which  clearly  show  it  to  be  the  intention  of  the  Creator, 
that  our  appetites  should  be  indulged  with  moderation, 
and  under  those  restraints  which  reason  prescribes. 

97.  What  is  meant  by  the  term  appetite  ? 

98.  What  are  the  strongest  of  these  appetites? 

99.  What  other  appetites  may  be  mentioned  ? 

100.  Are  the  animal  appetites  to  be  indulged  without  restraint? 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  AFFECTIONS. 

101.  The  affections  are  tendencies  or  cravings  directed 
toward  persons  as  their  immediate  objects  ;  while  appe¬ 
tites  are  directed  toward  things.  The  direct  and  ultimate 
effect  of  the  affections,  is  the  communication  either  of  en¬ 
joyment  or  of  suffering  to  any  of  our  fellow-creatures ; 
and  hence  by  some  authors  they  are  distinguished  into 
henevolent  zxxii  malevolent ;  by  others  into  benevolent 
defensive.  They  lead  us  to  a  particular  conduct  toward 
other  men  without  reference  to  any  principle  except  the 
intuitive  impulse  of  the  emotion  itself. 

102.  Affection  and  passion  are  the  same  in  kind  ;  but 
they  are  different  in  degree.  Affection  is  exercised  with 
decency  and  moderation  ;  but  passion  is  affection  carried 
to  such  excess,  that  it  disturbs  our  reason,  lessens,  or  en¬ 
tirely  takes  away  from  us  our  power  of  self-command, 
agitates  even  the  body,  and  hurries  us  to  action  by  an 
almost  irresistible  impulse. 

103.  The  affections  consist  of  two  classes,  the  Benevo¬ 
lent,  and  the  Defensive  or  Irascible.  These,  for  the  sake 
of  brevity,  may  be  designated  by  the  terms  Love,  and 
Anger. 

101.  What  are  the  affections? 

102.  How  is  an  affection  distinguished  from  a  passion? 

103.  What  are  the  principal  affections  ? 


BENEVOLENT  AFFECTIONS. 


49 


SECTION  I.— THE  BENEVOLENT  AFFECTIONS. 

The  term  Love  is  sometimes  used  to  describe  the  bodily 
desires,  as  when  we  talk  of  a  love  of  wine,  or  a  love  of 
the  pleasures  of  the  table.  But  the  more  direct  and 
proper  sense  of  the  word  is  that  in  which  it  denotes  an 
affection  toward  a  person. 

104.  Love  is  variously  modified  according  to  the  per¬ 
sons  to  whom  it  is  directed  :  thus,  there  is  conjugal  love, 
the  love  of  husband  and  wife  ;  parental  (paternal  and  ma¬ 
ternal)  love  ;  filial  love,  the  love  of  children  toward  their 
parents  ;  fraternal  love,  the  love  of  brothers  and  sisters 
toward  each  other ;  other  kinds  of  family  affection  ;  friend¬ 
ship,  the  love  by  which  friends  are  especially  drawn  to 
each  other  ;  public  spirit,  or  the  love  of  our  fellow-citi¬ 
zens  ;  patriotism,  the  love  of  our  fellow-countrymen  ; 
universal  benevolence,  or  philanthropy,  the  love  that  is 
borne  to  the  whole  human  race,  and  to  every  member  of 
it ;  love  to  God,  or  piety. 

The  benevolent  affections  are  spoken  of,  figuratively, 
as  the  heart.  A  man’s  heart  is  hard  or  cold,  when  these 
affections  are  feeble  and  dull  in  him  ;  he  is  warm-hearted, 
when  they  are  strong ;  and  open-hearted,  when  they  are 
readily  bestowed  on  those  around  him. 

105.  The  exercise  of  all  our  benevolent  affections  is 
accompanied  with  an  agreeable  emotion,  which  shows 
that  the  design  of  the  Creator  is  to  communicate  happiness 
to  his  intelligent  creatures  in  connection  with  the  exercise 
of  virtuous  dispositions.  The  object  of  the  Deity  in  con¬ 
necting  agreeable  emotions  with  the  exercise  of  benevo¬ 
lence  is,  to  induce  us  to  cultivate,  with  peculiar  care,  a 
class  of  our  active  principles  so  immediately  subservient 
to  the  happiness  of  human  society. 

106.  It  has  been  questioned  whether  there  be  in  man 
any  feeling  pure  benevolence,  which  aims  at  the  good  of 
others  only,  without  any  view  to  the  gratification  of  one’s 
self. 

By  doing  good  to  others,  it  is  true,  indeed,  that  we  do 
most  effectually  gratify  ourselves ;  for  what  can  give  a 
person  more  pleasure,  than  to  reflect  that  he  has  been  in¬ 
strumental  in  promoting  a  fellow-creature’s  happiness  % 
Yet  every  good  man  may  be  sensible  that  he  often  does 
good,  and  wishes  well,  to  others,  without  any  immediate 

C 


50 


BENEVOLENT  AFFECTIONS. 


view  to  his  own  gratification,  nay,  without  thinking  of 
himself  at  all. 

In  fact,  if  we  had  not  feelings  purely  benevolent,  we 
could  not  gratify  ourselves  by  doing  others  good.  Chil¬ 
dren  have  been  known  to  sacrifice  their  inclinations  to 
the  happiness  of  those  they  loved,  when  they  themselves 
believed  that  their  own  interest  would,  in  every  respect, 
suffer  by  doing  so. 

It  is  not  asserted,  indeed,  that  all  children,  or  all  men, 
are  so  disinterested  ;  it  is  only  asserted  that  pure  benev¬ 
olence  is  to  be  found  in  human  nature  ;  a  doctrine,  which, 
though  to  many  it  may  seem  self-evident,  has  been  much 
controverted,  and  which  there  are  men  in  the  world,  who, 
judging  of  all  others  by  themselves,  will  never  heartily 
acquiesce  in. 

107.  When  a  benevolent  affection  turns  our  attention 
upon  its  object  in  a  ti'anquil  manner,  it  is  regard.  The 
affection,  in  a  more  marked  form,  is  love.  When  it  im¬ 
plies  a  sensitive  and  vigilant  solicitude  for  the  good  of  its 
object,  it  is  tenderness  ;  when  it  absorbs  the  thought,  so 
that  reason  is  disregarded,  it  is  fondness  ;  when  this  is 
the  case,  the  affection  is  no  longer  a  virtue ;  still  less  is  it 
so,  when  love  becomes  doting,  overweening,  passionate. 

108.  When  benevolent  feeling  is  exercised  toward  a 
person  in  view  of  some  good  received  from  him,  the 
words  by  which  such  feeling  is  expressed  are  thanks.  A 
better  expression  of  the  feeling  consists,  however,  in  doing 
acts  of  gratitude,  in  returning  good  for  good. 

109.  Gratitude  itself  is  a  natural  and  virtuous  affection; 
but  the  acts  which  it  prompts  must  be  limited  by  rules  of 
duty.  A  man  who  does  what  is  wrong  in  nature  for  ben¬ 
efits  received,  makes  his  benefactor  the  director  of  his 
actions,  instead  of  directing  them  himself  as  morality  re¬ 
quires.  Hence  he  is  said  to  sell  himself;  and  to  be  venal. 

110.  Benevolent  affections  regarding  a  particular  per¬ 
son,  and  not  necessarily  leading  to  action,  are  good-will ;  ' 
when  they  produce  a  current  of  cheerful  thoughts,  they 
are  good-humor  ;  when  they  lead  a  man  to  comply  read¬ 
ily  with  the  wishes  of  others,  or  to  seek  to  give  them 
pleasure,  we  have  good-nature. 

When  this  disposition  is  shown  on  the  part  of  a  su- 
perioi’,  we  term  him  gracious  and  benign.  When  a  per¬ 
son’s  goodmature  makes  it  easy  to  address  him,  he  is 


BENEVOLENT  AFFECTIONS. 


51 


affable.  If,  in  his  behavior,  he  avoid  all  that  may  give 
offense  to  others,  he  is  courteous.  From  the  supposed 
prevalence  of  such  habits  in  cities,  they  are  characterized 
by  the  terms  urbanity  (from  urhs,  a  city)  and  civility. 
The  opposite  of  these  are  rudeness,  rusticity  (from  rus,  the 
country), 

111.  When  benevolent  feeling  exists  under  provoca¬ 
tion,  it  is  distinguished  by  such  names  as  gentleness,  mild¬ 
ness,  meekness;  the  opposites  of  resentment  and  malice. 

112.  We  naturally  share  in  the  emotions  which  we  wit¬ 
ness  in  men  :  we  then  have  a  fellow-feeling ,  a  sympathy , 
with  them.  When  this  disposition  leads  us  to  feel  pain 
at  the  sight  of  pain,  it  is  compassion  :  we  commiserate 
the  object.  This  feeling,  being  strongly  confirmed  by 
piety,  came  to  be  called  pity. 

Such  a  disposition,  as  it  prompts  us  to  abstain  from 
adding  to  the  pain  felt,  is  mercy,  or  clemency ;  as  it 
prompts  us  to  remove  the  pain  or  want  which  we  see,  it 
is  charity.  But  this  word  has  also  a  wider  sense,  in 
which  it  describes  benevolence,  as  it  makes  us  abstain 
from  judging  unfavorably  of  other  men. 

All  these  affections  lead  to  the  performance  of  the  du¬ 
ties  of  benevolence.  [Beattie;  Wheweil.] 

104.  How  is  this  affection  modified  according  to  the  persons  to  whom 
it  is  directed  ? 

105.  What  law  of  our  nature  may  here  be  noticed  with  regard  to  the 
benevolent  affections  ? 

106.  Has  it  not  been  questioned  whether  there  be  in  man  any  feeling  of 
pure  benevolence  which  aims  at  the  good  of  others  only,  without  any  view 
to  the  gratification  of  one’s  self? 

107.  What  terms  are  employed  to  denote  love  in  various  degrees  of  in¬ 
tensity  ? 

108.  When  does  our  benevolent  feeling  obtain  the  name  of  gratitude? 

109.  What  limits  must  be  applied  to  acts  of  gratitude? 

110.  What  names  are  given  to  the  manifestations  of  the  benevolent  af¬ 
fections,  in  their  influence  on  the  external  behavior? 

111.  When  benevolent  feeling  exists  under  provocation,  by  what  names 
is  it  distinguished  ? 

112.  How  are  the  benevolent  affections  modified  by  a  regard  to  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  of  the  object  ? 

SECTION  II.— THE  IRASCIBLE  OR  MALEVOLENT  AFFECTIONS. 

113.  The  irascible  affections  are,  for  the  most  part,  op¬ 
posed  to  the  virtue  of  benevolence ;  and  so  far  they  are 
to  be  repressed  and  controlled.  Yet  these  affections,  in 
their  original,  uncorrupted  form,  have  a  moral  office,  and 
give  rise  to  virtues. 


52 


IRASCIBLE  AFFECTIONS. 


This  is  the  case  when  they  act  as  a  defense  against 
harm  and  wrong ;  and  hence,  in  their  various  modifica¬ 
tions,  they  may  be  termed  defensive  affections. 

As  opposed  to  harm,  inflicted  or  threatened,  they  are 
resentment ;  as  directed  against  wrong,  they  are  indig¬ 
nation. 

Their  proper  object  is,  primarily,  a  sense  of  blamable 
conduct  in  others;  and  they  lead  us  to  use  proper  meas¬ 
ures  for  protecting  ourselves  against  such  conduct. 

114.  Such  sentiments  are  a  necessary  part,  not  of  be¬ 
nevolence,  strictly  speaking,  but  of  justice.  Without  in¬ 
dignation  against  cruelty,  fraud,  falsehood,  disorder,  the 
virtues  have  not  their  full  force  in  the  mind.  But  anger, 
in  order  to  be  virtuous,  must  be  directed  solely  against 
moral  wrong. 

While  we  disapprove  of  the  character  and  conduct  of 
men  in  certain  circumstances,  we  are  led,  by  our  feelings 
of  justice  and  benevolence,  to  take  part  with  the  injured 
and  oppressed,  against  the  oppressors ;  or  to  protect 
those  who  are  threatened  with  injuries,  by  measures  for 
defeating  the  schemes  of  their  enemies. 

A  still  more  refined  exercise  of  this  class  of  feelings 
leads  us  to  seek  the  reformation  of  the  offender,  and  to 
convert  him  from  an  enemy  into  a  friend. 

115.  The  irascible  affections  are  vicious  when  they 
are  directed  against  j)ersons,  not  against  moral  wrong. 

Antipathy,  dislike,  aversion  to  any  person,  independ¬ 
ently  of  his  bad  character  and  conduct,  are  vicious.  It  is 
vicious  to  be  displeased,  irritated,  incensed,  exasperated  at 
any  person,  merely  because  his  actions  interfere  with  our 
pleasures  and  desires.  The  proneness  to  such  anger  is 
irascibility . 

116.  Our  angry  emotions  become  especially  vicious 
when  they  swell  into  rage  and  fury,  or  settle  into  malice 
and  hatred. 

The  term  rancor  denotes  a  fixed  hate,  which,  by  its 
inward  working,  has,  as  it  were,  diseased  the  soul  in 
which  it  exists.  Spite  implies  a  vigilant  desire  to  depress 
and  mortify  its  object. 

117.  Moderate  anger,  arising  from  pain  inflicted  on  us, 
is  offense,  which  term  is  also  used  for  the  offensive  act.  A 
person  commits  an  offense  or  offends,  in  the  latter  sense ; 
and  takes  offense,  or  is  offended,  in  the  former. 


MALEVOLENT  FEELINGS. 


53 


If  the  act  be  one  which  violently  transgresses  common 
rules,  it  is  an  outrage. 

Anger  at  pain  received,  impelling  a  man  to  inflict  pain 
in  return,  is  revenge.  This  term  also  implies  the  object 
or  aim  of  the  feeling,  as  well  as  the  feeling  itself.  A  man 
is  stimulated  hjj  revenge,  and  seeks  his  revenge. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  the  word  vengeance,  another 
foi'm  of  the  word,  but  of  the  same  origin.  The  man  who 
admits  into  his  heart  this  affection,  and  retains  it,  is  re¬ 
vengeful,  vengeful,  vindictive. 

118.  Resentment  naturally  leads  to  the  infliction  of 
punishment ;  the  object  of  which  is  to  prevent  similar 
conduct  in  others,  not  to  gratify  personal  vengeance. 
Hence  it  is  required  to  be  done  in  a  public  manner ;  with 
proper  deliberation  and  coolness ;  and  with  an  exact 
adaptation  of  the  penalty  to  the  offense,  and  to  the  object 
to  be  attained. 

119.  The  injured  party  is  not  likely  to  Inflict  punish¬ 
ment  with  the  requisite  impartiality  and  candor ;  for  we 
are  apt  to  feel  too  deeply  injuries  offered  to  ourselves, 
and  not  to  make  the  proper  allowance  for  the  feelings  of 
others,  and  the  circumstances  which  led  to  the  offense. 
Beside,  they  who  ai’e  most  susceptible  of  offenses,  and 
most  irritable  under  them,  are  generally  least  inclined  to 
make  allowances  for  others. 

Hence,  in  all  cases,  our  disapprobation  of  personal  ven¬ 
geance,  or  of  a  man  taking  the  law  into  his  own  hands  ; 
and  our  perfect  sympathy  with  the  protectors  of  the  pub¬ 
lic  peace,  when  they  dispassionately  investigate  a  case  of 
injury,  and  calmly  adapt  their  measures  to  the  real  ob¬ 
ject  to  be  attained  by  them — the  protection  of  the  public. 

120.  When  the  malevolent  feelings,  as  manifested  in 
the  external  behavior,  affect  our  disposition  to  a  person, 
without  necessarily  leading  to  action,  they  are  ill-will. 
When  they  disturb  the  usual  current  of  cheerful  thoughts, 
they  are  ill-humor.  When  malevolent  feelings  lead  us  to 
speak  or  act  with  a  view  of  giving  pain  to  others,  they 
are  ill-nature.  When  they  make  us  rejoice  in  another’s 
pain,  they  are  malignity. 

121.  Malevolent  pain  at  the  good  which  happens  to 
another,  and  at  our  own  want  of  this  good,  is  envy. 

[Whewell.  Consult  also  Dewar,  vol.  i.  pp.  371-388.] 


54 


GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  PASSIONS. 


113.  What  is  to  be  said  of  the  irascible  alfections? 

114.  Are  resentment  and  indignation  a  part  of  virtue? 

115.  When  are  the  irascible  or  malevolent  affections  vices? 

116.  When  do  our  angry  emotions  become  especially  vicious? 

117.  What  are  the  emotions  called,  which  arise  from  pain  inflicted  on 
us? 

118.  What  is  the  utility  and  proper  exercise  of  resentment,  in  cases 
which  concern  the  public  peace  ? 

119.  Is  It  safe  or  proper  to  intrust  the  punishment  of  offenses  to  the 
injured  party? 

120.  What  names  are  applied  to  the  malevolent  feelings,  as  manifested 
in  the  external  behavior  ? 

121.  How  are  the  malevolent  affections  modified  by  a  regard  to  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  of  the  object  ? 


SECTION  111.— THE  PROPER  GOVERNMENT  OF  THE  APPETITES 
AND  PASSIONS. 

122.  The  government  of  the  passions  is  a  difficult  work ; 
but  absolutely  necessary,  if  we  wish  to  be  happy  either 
in  the  next  world  or  in  this.  And  as  it  is  the  7nore  difficult 
the  longer  it  is  delayed,  it  is  the  part  of  prudence,  as  well 
as  a  matter  of  duty,  to  begin  it  without  delay. 

123.  In  order  to  acquire  a  command  over  our  passions, 
habits  of  temperance  and  of  useful  industry  must  be 
maintained  ;  the  imagination  must  be  guided  and  con¬ 
trolled  ;  the  love  of  nature,  simplicity,  and  truth  must  be 
cherished;  in  the  midst  of  lawful  pleasure,  we  must 
maintain  moderation  and  self-command;  we  are  to  op¬ 
pose  early  the  beginnings  of  passion,  and  avoid  particu¬ 
larly  all  such  objects  as  are  apt  to  excite  passions  which 
we  know  predominate  within  us ;  when  an  improper 
passion  is  felt,  we  must  direct  our  minds  to  objects  which 
will  call  up  emotions  of  an  opposite  character;  above  all 
an  humble  and  ardent  piety  leading  us  to  prayer,  must 
be  continually  practiced. 

124.  We  must  beware  lest  bad  passions  impose  on  us 
by  assuming  a  false  name  ;  for  this  often  happens,  and  is 
often  fatal  to  virtue. 

INIen  are  apt  to  mistake  their  own  avarice  for  frugality, 
profusion  for  generosity,  suspicion  for  cautious  discern¬ 
ment,  pride  for  magnanimity,  ostentation  for  liberality, 
detraction  for  the  love  of  truth,  insolence  for  plain  dealing, 
revenge  for  resentment,  envy  for  emulation,  and  sensuality 
for  necessary  amusement. 

125.  We  are  to  avoid  all  trains  of  thought,  all  compa¬ 
nies,  all  books,  and  all  opportunities  of  action,  by  which 


OBJECTS  TO  BE  AVOIDED. 


55 


we  have  reason  to  apprehend  that  irregular  passions  may 
be  raised  or  encouraged. 

How  much  good  manners  may  be  coiTupted  by  evil 
communications,  the  sad  experience  of  every  age,  and  of 
almost  every  man,  can  abundantly  testify.  The  world 
judges  of  men  from  the  company  they  keep:  and  it  is 
right  that  it  should  be  so.  No  man  will  cboose  for  his 
companion  the  person  whom  he  either  despises  or  disap¬ 
proves.  He  therefore  who  associates  with  the  wicked 
and  the  foolish  gives  proof  of  his  own  wickedness  and 
folly. 

126.  Those  books  are  eminently  pernicious,  by  which 
criminal  passions  may  be  inflamed,  or  good  principles 
subverted :  they  should  be  aVoided  as  the  pestilence. 

To  take  pleasure  in  such  books  is  a  mark  of  as  great 
corruption  of  mind,  and  ought  to  be  accounted  as  dishon¬ 
orable,  as  to  keep  company  with  pickpockets,  gamblers, 
and  atheists. 

127.  Games  of  chance,  where  money  is  the  object,  are 

dangerous  in  the  extreme  :  they  cherish  evil  passions 
without  number;  as  avarice,  anger,  selfishness,  discontent; 
and  give  rise  to  altercation  and  quarreling,  and  some¬ 
times  to  the  most  shocking  impiety.  They  occasion,  as 
long  as  they  continue,  a  total  loss  of  time,  and  of  all  the 
rational  pleasures  of  social  life.  They  are  generally  det¬ 
rimental  to  health,  by  keeping  the  body  inactive,  and  en¬ 
croaching  on  the  hours  of  rest.  They  produce  a  feverish 
agitation  of  the  spirits,  as  hurtful  to  the  mind,  as  habitual 
dram-drinking  would  be  to  the  body.  They  level  all  dis¬ 
tinctions  of  sense  and  folly,  of  virtue  and  vice  ;  and  bring 
together  on  the  same  footing,  men  and  women  of  decent, 
and  of  the  most  abandoned  manners.  [Beattie.] 


122.  Is  the  government  of  the  passions  a  difficult  or  easy  duty  ? 

123.  By  what  measures  may  we  acquire  a  command  over  our  passions? 

124.  What  caution  is  sometimes  necessary  to  be  observed  in  respect  to 
our  passions? 

125.  What  things  are  to  be  avoided,  that  we  may  have  our  passions  un¬ 
der  proper  control  ? 

126.  What  books  are  to  be  considered  dangerous  ? 

127.  How  may  it  be  shown  that  games  of  chance,  where  money  is  the 
object,  are  dangerous  in  the  extreme  ? 


50 


CONTROL  OF  THE  AFFECTIONS. 


SECTION  IV.— THE  MORAL  CULTURE  OF  THE  BENEVOLENT 
AFFECTIONS. 

128.  It  may  be  said  that  we  have  not  the  power  of 
generating  or  directing  our  affections,  and  of  forming  our 
own  character. 

129.  We  reply  that  this  objection  involves  much  too 
large  an  assertion.  It  is  very  far  from  being  true,  that 
we  have  no  power  over  our  own  affections  or  our  own 
character.  The  universal  voice  of  mankind  recognizes 
the  existence  of  such  a  power,  by  the  condemnation  which 
it  awards  to  the  want  of  benevolent  affections.  This  im¬ 
plies  that  a  man’s  affections  are,  in  some  way,  subject  to 
his  own  control. 

130.  The  will  is  not  in  contact  with  the  emotion  or 
affection,  but  it  is  in  contact  with  the  idea  of  that  object 
which  awakens  the  emotion  ;  and  therefore,  although  not 
in  contact  with  the  emotion,  it  may  be  vested  with  an 
effectual  control  over  it.  It  cannot  bid  compassion  into 
the  bosom,  apart  from  the  object  which  awakens  it;  but 
it  can  bid  a  personal  entry  into  the  house  of  mourning, 
and  then  the  compassion  will  flow  apace  :  or  it  can  bid  a 
mental  conception  of  the  bereaved  and  afflicted  family 
there,  and  then  the  sensibility  will  equally  arise,  whether 
a  suffering  be  seen  or  a  suffering  be  thought  of. 

It  is  thus  that  we  can  will  the  right  einotions  into  heing, 
not  immediately,  but  mediately  :  as  the  love  of  God,  by 
thinking  on  God ;  a  sentiment  of  friendship,  by  dwelling 
in  contemplation  on  the  congenial  qualities  of  our  friend ; 
the  admiration  of  moral  excellence,  by  a  steady  attention 
to  it. 

It  is  thus  too  that  ice  can  hid  away  the  wrong  emotions^ 
not  separately  and  in  disjunction  from  their  objects,  but  by 
ridding  our  mind  of  the  thoughts  which  excite  and  origi¬ 
nate  emotions.  We  may  rid  ourselves  of  anger,  for  exam¬ 
ple,  by  forgetting  the  injury,  or  by  directing  our  attention 
to  some  other  object.  Hence  the  culture  or  regulation  of 
the  heart  is  mainly  dependent  on  the  regulation  of  the 
thoughts,  [Chalmers’  Works,  vol.  v.  pp.  206, 207.] 

128.  What  objection  here  deserves  to  be  considered? 

129.  What  reply  shall  be  made  to  this  objection  ? 

130.  In  what  manner  can  we  control  our  affections? 


INFLUENCE  OF  ATTENTION  AND  HABIT. 


57 


SECTION  V.— INFLUENCE  EXERTED  UPON  THE  AFFECTIONS  BY 

ATTENTION  AND  HABIT. 

I.  Influence  of  Attention, 

131.  The  act  of  attention  consists  in  directing  the  mind 
intensely  and  habitually  to  all  the  considerations  which 
ought  to  guide  us  in  the  particular  relation  to  which  the 
aft'ection  refers.  It  leads  us  to  place  ourselves  in  the 
situation  of  others  ;  and,  with  a  kind  of  personal,  almost 
selfish  interest,  to  enter  into  their  wants,  their  anxieties, 
and  their  feelings ;  and  thus,  in  their  place,  to  judge  of 
the  emotions  and  the  conduct  which  are  due  from  us  to 
them.  Such  is  the  exercise  of  one  who  wishes  to  follow 
the  great  rule  of  doing  to  oilier s  as  he  would  that  they 
should  do  to  him. 

II.  Influence  of  Hahit. 

132.  The  tendency  of  all  emotions  is  to  become  weaker 
by  repetition,  or  to  be  less  acutely  felt  the  oftener  they 
are  experienced. 

133.  The  tendency  of  actions  is  to  become  easier  by 
repetition,  so  that  those  which  require  at  first  close  atten¬ 
tion  come  to  be  performed  without  effort,  and  almost 
without  consciousness. 

134.  An  affection  consists  of  an  emotion  leading  to  an 
action ;  and  the  natural  progress  of  the  mind,  in  the 
proper  exercise  of  the  affection,  is,  that  the  emotion  be¬ 
comes  less  acutely  felt  as  the  affection  becomes  easier 
and  more  familiar. 

135.  Thus,  a  scene  of  wretchedness,  or  a  tale  of  sorrow, 
will  produce  in  the  inexperienced  an  intensity  of  emotion 
not  felt  by  him  whose  life  has  been  devoted  to  deeds  of 
mercy ;  and  a  superficial  observer  is  apt  to  consider  the 
condition  of  the  latter  as  one  of  insensibility,  produced  by 
familiarity  with  scenes  of  distress.  But  this  is  not  so. 
It  is  that  healthy  and  natural  progress  of  the  mind,  in 
which  the  emotion  is  gradually  diminished  in  force  as 
it  is  followed  by  its  proper  actions ;  that  is,  as  the  mere 
intensity  of  feeling  is  exchanged  for  the  habit  of  active 
benevolence. 

136.  The  emotion  must  be  steadily  followed  by  the 
action  which  belongs  to  it.  If  this  be  neglected,  the 
harmony  of  the  moral  process  is  destroyed,  and,  as  the 

c* 


58 


IMPORTANT  CONCLUSIONS. 


emotion  becomes  weakened,  it  is  succeeded  by  cold  in¬ 
sensibility  or  barren  selfishness. 

137.  There  are  two  conclusions  arising  out  of  this  sub¬ 
ject.  The  one  relates  to  the  had  effects  of  fictitious  scenes 
of  sorrow,  as  represented  on  the  stage,  or  in  works  of 
fancy.  The  emotion  is  produced  without  the  corres¬ 
ponding  action,  and  the  consequence  is  likely  to  be  a  cold 
and  useless  sentimentalism,  instead  of  a  sound  cultivation 
of  the  benevolent  affections. 

The  second  conclusion  is,  that,  in  cultivating  the  benev¬ 
olent  affections  in  the  young,  we  should  be  careful  to  ob¬ 
serve  the  process  pointed  out  in  the  philosophy  of  the 
moral  feelings.  They  should  be  familiarized  with  scenes 
of  actual  suffering,  but  this  ought  to  be  accompanied  by 
deeds  of  minute  and  active  kindness,  so  as  to  produce  a 
full  and  lively  impression  of  the  wants  and  feelings  of  the 
sufferer.  [Abercrombie.] 


131.  What  is  the  nature  of  the  influence  exerted  by  attention,  aided  by 
a  certain  act  of  imagination  ? 

132.  What  is  the  tendency  of  all  emotions? 

133.  What  is  the  tendency  of  actions? 

134.  What  is  the  nature  of  an  affection? 

135.  How  is  the  proper  exercise  of  affection  illustrated  ? 

136.  What  should  follow  emotion? 

137.  What  important  conclusions  arise  out  of  this  subject  respecting 
the  cultivation  of  the  benevolent  affections? 


CHAPTER  V. 

THE  DESIRES. 

138.  Our  desires  differ  from  our  appetites,  in  not  taking 
their  rise  from  the  body ;  in  not  operating  periodically, 
after  certain  intervals ;  and  in  not  ceasing  on  the  attain¬ 
ment  of  a  particular  object.  While  pursuing  the  objects 
of  desire,  we  are  acting  a  part  more  suited  to  our  rational 
nature  than  when  yielding  to  the  dominion  of  indolence 
or  of  appetite  ;  and  it  is  not  till  we  pervert  them  from 
their  true  end  that  we  fall  in  the  esteem  of  our  fellow- 
creatui’es. 

139.  The  mental  condition  which  we  call  desire  ap- 


THE  DESIRES. - DESIRE  OF  SAFETY. 


59 


pears  to  lie  in  a  great  measure  at  the  foundation  of  char¬ 
acter;  and,  for  a  sound  moral  condition,  it  is  required 
that  the  desires  be  directed  to  worthy  objects ;  and  that 
the  degree  or  strength  of  the  desire  be  accommodated  to 
the  true  and  relative  value  of  each  of  these  objects.  If 
the  desires  are  thus  directed,  worthy  conduct  will  be 
likely  to  follow  in  a  steady  and  uniform  manner.  If  they 
are  allowed  to  break  from  these  restraints  of  reason 
and  the  moral  principle,  the  man  is  left  at  the  mercy  of 
unhallowed  passion,  and  is  liable  to  those  irregularities 
which  result  from  such  a  derangement  of  the  moral  feel- 

ings- 

140.  The  desires  may  indeed  exist  in  an  ill-regulated 
state,  while  the  conduct  is  restrained  by  various  princi¬ 
ples  ;  such  as  submission  to  human  laws,  a  regard  to 
character,  or  even  a  certain  feeling  of  what  is  morally 
right,  contending  with  the  vitiated  principle  within.  But 
this  cannot  be  considered  as  the  healthy  condition  of  a 
moral  being. 

It  is  only  when  the  desire  itself  is  sound  that  wo  can 
say  the  man  is  in  moral  health.  This,  accordingly,  is  the 
great  principle  so  often  and  so  strikingly  enforced  in  the 
sacred  writings,  “  Keep  thy  heart  with  all  diligence,  be¬ 
cause  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life.”  “  Blessed  are  the 
pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see  God.” 

Thus  there  are  desires  that  are  folly,  and  there  are  de¬ 
sires  that  are  vice,  even  though  they  should  not  be  fol¬ 
lowed  by  indulgence  ;  and  there  are  desires  which  tend 
to  purify  and  elevate  the  moral  nature,  though  their  ob¬ 
jects  should  be  beyond  the  reach  of  our  full  attainment 
in  the  present  state  of  being. 

[See  Exposition  of  the  Tenth  Commandment.] 

141.  Our  principal  desires  are,  the  desire  of  safety, 
the  desire  of  having,  the  desire  of  society,  the  desire  of 
superiority,  the  desire  of  knowledge,  the  desire  of  moral 
improvement,  the  desire  of  action,  the  desire  of  happi¬ 
ness,  the  desire  of  esteem. 

,  (1.)  The  Desire  of  Safety. 

142.  The  desire  of  safety  is  originated  by  a  knowledge 
of  our  exposure  to  the  effects  of  the  conflicting  desires  of 
other  men.  The  instinctive  love  of  life,  the  instinctive 
desire  to  avoid  privation,  pain,  and  constraint,  are  ex- 


60 


DESIRE  OF  PROPERTY - OF  SOCIETY. 


panded  and  unfolded  by  memory, ^reflection,  and  foresight, 
so  that  life,  ease,  and  comfoi't  become  objects  to  which 
man  tends  with  conscious  thought,  as  well  as  from  blind 
impulse.  He  is  not  satisfied  with  present  safety,  but  is 
anxious  to  have  security  for  the  future. 

(2.)  The  Desire  of  Property. 

143.  This  desire  is  apparent  in  all  stages  of  society. 
Food,  clothing,  weapons,  tools,  ornaments,  houses,  car¬ 
riages,  ships,  are  universally  objects  of  his  desire.  At 
first  these  things  are  desired  as  a  means  of  gratifying  his 
natural  appetites,  or  his  affections ;  of  supporting  and 
sheltering  his  family ;  of  repelling  and  mastering  his  en¬ 
emies.  But  afterward  he  delights  to  consider  them  as 
connected  with  himself  in  a  permanent  and  exclusive 
manner,  «,nd  to  look  upon  them  as  Jiis,  as  his  own,  as  his 
property.  The  things  which  he  thus  looks  upon  as  his 
own  he  is  disturbed  at  the  prospect  of  losing,  and  is  an¬ 
gry  at  any  one  who  attempts  to  take  them  from  him. 

144.  The  pursuit  of  wealth  derives  its  moral  character 
from  the  end  for  which  it  is  sought.  A  man  may  desire 
wealth  as  a  means  of  luxury  and  sensuality  :  and  in  such 
a  case  the  desire  of  wealth  is  opposed  to  temperance, 
rather  than  to  justice. 

Or,  it  may  be  desired  as  a  means  of  benevolent  action, 
or  of  right  action  in  many  other  ways.  A  person’s  power 
of  doing  good,  of  many  kinds,  depends  much  upon  the 
station  and  influence  which  wealth  bestows.  The  desire 
of  wealth  for  this  purpose  is  virtuous. 

145.  Though  wealth  may  be  desired  for  ends  wdiich 
make  the  desire  virtuous,  the  progress  of  men’s  habits  is 
such  that,  when  sought  at  first  as  a  means,  it  is  afterward 
desired  as  an  end.  The  desire  to  acquire  money  is  then 
unlimited  ;  and  is  covetousness,  avarice. 

(3.)  The  Desire  of  Society. 

146.  The  most  prominent  forms  in  which  this  desire 
appears  are,  the  desire  of  family  society,  and  of  civil  so¬ 
ciety,  images  of  which  may  be  seen  in  the  instincts  of 
animals  :  of  the  former,  in  pairing  animals ;  of  the  latter, 
in  gregarious  animals.  This  desire  springs  up  in  early 
childhood,  before  the  dawn  of  reason. 


DESIRE  OF  SOCIETY. 


G1 


The  desire  of  safety  and  the  desire  of  property  may  he 
supposed  to  give  rise  to  a  desire  of  civil  society,  as  of  a 
means  by  which  such  objects  may  be  secured.  But  be¬ 
side  this  consideration,  man  is  by  his  very  constitution  a 
social  animal.  He  is  nowhere  found,  nor  can  he  exist  in 
any  other  state  than  in  society,  in  one  form  or  other.' 

The  social  principle  shows  itself  at  all  periods  of  life 
and  in  all  conditions  of  civilization.  In  pei'sons  shut  up 
from  intercourse  with  their  fellow  men,  it  has  manifested 
itself  in  the  closest  attachment  to  animals ;  as  if  the  hu¬ 
man  mind  could  not  exist  without  some  object  on  which 
to  exercise  the  feelings  intended  to  bind  man  to  his  fel¬ 
lows.  It  is  said  that  the  Count  de  Lauzun,  during  a 
nine  years’  confinement  in  a  room  where  no  light  was 
admitted  but  through  a  chink  in  the  roof,  attached  him¬ 
self  to  a  spider,  and  continued  for  some  time  to  amuse 
himself  with  attempting  to  tame  it,  with  catching  flies  for 
its  support,  and  with  superintending  the  progress  of  its 
web.  When  the  cruel  jailer  discovered  the  count  thus 
amusing  himself,  he  killed  the  spider,  the  loss  of  whose 
society  was  felt  by  the  count  as  the  loss  of  a  beloved 
child  is  felt  by  a  mother. 

The  desire  of  society  shows  itself  in  the  union  of  men 
in  civil  society  and  social  intercourse ;  in  the  offices  of 
friendship,  and  in  the  still  closer  union  of  the  domestic 
circle. 

The  abuse  of  this  principle  produces  the  contracted 
spirit  of  party. 

Men  desii’e  to  act,  and  are  fitted  to  act,  in  common ; 
declaring  and  enforcing  rules  by  which  the  conduct  of  all 
shall  be  governed.  They  thus  act  as  governors,  legisla¬ 
tors,  judges,  subjects,  citizens.  Without  such  commu¬ 
nity  of  action,  and  such  common  rules  really  enforced, 
there  can  be  no  tolerable  comfort,  peace,  or  order.  With¬ 
out  civil  society  man  cannot  act  as  man. 

147.  Another  spring  of  action,  intimately  connected 
with  the  continuance  of  the  social  state,  is  a  mutual  under¬ 
standing  among  men,  by  which  they  may  learn  to  antici¬ 
pate  and  to  depend  upon  the  actions  of  each  other.  A 
large  part  of  the  actions  that  take  place  among  men  are 
regulated  by  their  mutual  understanding  established  by 
promises,  or  in  some  other  way.  In  the  different  employ 
ments  of  life  there  is  a  mutual  dependence,  the  result  of 


62 


DESIRE  OF  SUPERIORITY. 


a  mutual  understanding,  which  serves  as  a  bond  of  society, 
and  is  to  be  ranked  among  the  principal  springs  of  human 
action. 

(4.)  The  Desire  of  Superiority  and  of  Power. 

148.  The  desire  of  superiority  is  only  a  modification  of 
the  desire  of  power.  There  is  one  particular,  however, 
in  which  the  desire  of  superiority  differs  from  the  desire 
of  power.  The  desire  of  superiority,  or  the  principle  of 
emulation,  is  only  excited  by  competition;  whereas 
power  is  sought  after  in  the  absence  of  every  kind  of 
rivalship. 

149.  It  is  interesting  to  trace  the  different  ways  in 
which  different  individuals  acquire  an  ascendency  over 
others.  And  as  all  the  gifts  of  rank  and  fortune,  and 
intellect,  as  well  as  of  moral  goodness,  may  be  made 
in  some  way  or  other  subservient  to  this  end,  they 
are  all  the  objects  of  pursuit  for  the  sake  of  the  notice 
which  they  attract,  and  the  power  which  they  com¬ 
municate. 

A  man  desires  to  he  more  wealthy  than  his  neighbors  ; 
and  hence  accumulates  riches  by  labor,  agi’iculture,  trade, 
or  traffic. 

A  man  wishes  not  only  to  surpass,  but  to  guide  and  con¬ 
trol  other  men.  He  wishes  that  they  should  obey  when 
he  commands.  He  has  a  desire  of  poicer.  To  this  ob¬ 
ject,  strength  and  skill,  and  riches  and  eloquence,  may  all 
be  as  means  to  ends.  When  it  becomes  the  governing 
propensity,  the  strongest  principles  of  human  nature  give 
way  before  it,  even  those  of  personal  comfort  and  safety. 
We  see  this  in  the  conqueror  and  in  the  statesman. 

I'he  individual  under  its  control,  often  is  hurried  away 
from  the  attainment  of  one  degree  of  influence  to  another, 
till  he  begins  to  aim  at  a  point  of  elevation  which  he  can¬ 
not  reach  without  deep  ciiminality.  In  the  poet’s  Lady 
Macbeth  is  drawn  the  most  vivid  picture  of  a  case  not 
very  uncommon,  in  which  the  principle  of  ambition  has 
entirely  subdued  every  suggestion  of  conscience  and  all 
the  gentler  emotions  of  humanity.  The  deliberate  sacri¬ 
fice  of  all  other  considerations  to  the  gaining  “  sole  sove¬ 
reign  sway  and  masterdom,”  by  the  murder  of  Duncan, 
is  forcibly  expressed  in  her  invocation  on  hearing  of  his 
fatal  entrance  under  her  battlements  : — 


DESIRE  OF  POWER - OF  KNOWLEDGE. 


63 


“  Come,  you  spirits 

That  tend  on  mortal  thoughts,  unsex  me  here ; 

And  fill  me,  from  the  crown  to  th’  toe,  top-full 
Of  direst  cruelty  ;  make  thick  my  blood, 

Stop  up  the  access  and  passage  to  remorse. 

That  no  compunctious  visitings  of  nature 
Shake  my  fell  purpose,  nor  keep  peace  between 
The  effect,  and  it.  Come  to  my  woman’s  breasts. 

And  take  my  milk  for  gall,  you  murd’ring  ministers, 

Wherever  in  your  sightless  substances 

You  wait  on  nature’s  mischief.  Come,  thick  night ! 

And  pall  thee  in  the  dunnest  smoke  of  hell. 

That  my  keen  knife  see  not  the  wound  it  makes, 

Nor  heaven  peep  through  the  blanket  of  the  dark. 

To  cry  hold  !  hold !” 

There  are  some  striking  passages  illustrative  of  am¬ 
bition,  and  of  the  guilt  and  misery  to  which  it  leads,  in 
Milton’s  Paradise  Lost. 

The  desire  of  power  often  aims  at  a  higher  and  nobler 
object :  such  is  the  desire  of  exercising  power  over  the 
minds  of  men  ;  of  persuading  a  multitude,  by  arguments 
or  eloquence,  to  deeds  of  usefulness;  of  pleading  the 
cause  of  the  oppressed ;  a  power  of  influencing  the 
opinions  of  others,  and  of  guiding  them  into  sound  senti¬ 
ments  and  virtuous  conduct. 

In  no  case  is  the  power  of  man  over  man  more  wonder¬ 
ful,  and  in  general  more  enviable,  than  in  the  influence 
which  the  orator  exercises  over  the  thoughts  and  passions 
of  a  great  multitude  ;  while,  without  the  force  or  the 
splendor  of  rank,  he  moves  their  will,  and  bends  their 
desire  to  the  accomplishment  of  his  own  purposes.  This 
is  a  power  far  more  elevated  than  that  which  only  reaches 
to  the  bodies  of  men  :  it  extends  to  the  affections  and 
intentions  of  the  heart ;  and  seems  as  if  it  were  capable 
of  arresting  the  trains  of  our  ideas,  and  of  awakening  or 
of  creating  the  feelings  that  are  suited  to  its  designs.  The 
conscious  possession  of  a  power  so  vast  and  so  peculiar, 
is  accompanied  with  a  degree  of  pleasure  proportionably 
great;  and  it  may  be  supposed  that  the  pleasure  will 
prompt  to  the  frequent  and  the  more  extended  exercise 
of  the  superiority  from  which  it  springs, 

[Dewar’s  Moral  Philosophy,  voL  i.  p.  421.] 


(5.)  The  Desire  of  Knowledge. 

150.  Man,  by  his  rational  nature,  is  constantly  impelled 
to  observe,  to  think,  to  reason,  to  classify,  to  trace  causes 


G4 


DESIRE  OF  KNOWLEDGE. 


and  consequences.  To  do  this,  is  to  know,  and  to  con¬ 
tinue  to  do  it,  is  to  go  on  from  knowledge  to  knowledge. 

The  wisdom  of  nature  appears  in  giving  the  desire  of 
knowledge  that  peculiar  direction  which  is  best  adapted 
to  the  necessities  of  every  different  stage  of  life — leading 
us  in  youth  to  give  our  exclusive  attention  to  the  properties 
of  the  material  objects  with  which  we  are  surrounded — 
and  in  maturer  years  to  the  pursuits  of  society,  to  politics, 
science,  religion,  and  to  the  endless  varieties  of  studies 
and  professions  which  are  comprehended  in  the  avoca¬ 
tions  of  mankind. 

It  is  this  desire,  in  addition  to  the  desire  of  fame,  which 
pi’ompts  the  youth  to  go  to  distant  lands.  From  the  grati¬ 
fication  of  the  same  desire  the  philosopher  receives  a 
compensation  for  the  privations  of  that  life  which  he 
consumes  in  retirement. 

^  “  What  need  words 

To  paint  its  power  ?  For  this  the  daring  youth 
Breaks  from  his  weeping  mother’s  anxious  arms. 

In  foreign  climes  to  rove :  the  pensive  sage. 

Heedless  of  sleep,  or  midnight’s  harmful  damp. 

Hangs  o’er  the  sickly  taper:  and  untired 
The  virgin  follows,  with  enchanted  step. 

The  mazes  of  some  wild  and  wondrous  tale, 

From  morn  to  eve.  Hence  finally,  by  night. 

The  village  matron,  round  the  blazing  hearth 
Suspends  the  infant  audience  with  her  tales. 

Breathing  astonishment  !”»**■ 

151.  The  class  of  actions  to  which  the  desire  of  knowl¬ 
edge  impels  us  depends  on  the  objects  to  which  it  is 
directed.  These  may  vary  from  the  idle  tattle  of  the  day 
to  the  highest  attainments  in  literature  and  science.  The 
principle  may  be  applied  to  pursuits  of  a  frivolous  or  useful 
kind,  and  to  such  acquirements  as  lead  only  to  pedantry 
or  sophistry ;  or  it  may  be  directed  to  the  obtaining  of  a 
superficial  acquaintance  with  a  great  variety  of  subjects 
w'ithout  a  correct  knowledge  of  any  of  them. 

152.  The  desire,  under  consideration,  should  be  directed 
only  to  worthy  objects :  it  should  not  be  gratified  at  the 
expense  of  important  duties  which  we  may  owe  to  others 
in  the  particular  situation  in  which  we  are  placed  ;  and 
it  should  be  so  directed  as  to  promote  tlie  benefit  of 
others. 

153.  The  desire  of  communicating  our  knowledge  is 
closely  connected  with  the  desire  of  acquiring  it.  Though 


DESIKE  OF  IMPROVEMENT - OF  ACTION. 


65 


the  pleasure  accompanying  it  may  be  traced  to  the  lively 
exercise  of  our  social  aflections,  or  to  the  feeling  of  supe¬ 
riority  which  accompanies  the  conscious  possession  of 
knowledge,  it  is  not  the  less  true  that  it  forms  a  powerful 
motive  to  perseverance  in  the  most  laborious  study.  Many 
a  man  would  not  think  it  worth  his  while  to  pursue  his 
studies  with  so  much  steadiness  and  application,  if  he  en¬ 
joyed  not,  in  hope,  the  satisfaction  of  enlightening  and 
thus  benefiting  his  fellow-creatures. 

The  pleasure  we  receive  from  communicating  knowledge 
is  a  happy  provision  of  our  nature,  intended  to  increase 
our  enjoyment  and  our  virtue  ;  andzwa^  evidently  designed 
to  render  the  blessings  of  knowledge  the  common  inherit¬ 
ance  of  the  species. 

(6.)  The  Desire  of  Moral  Improvement. 

154.  This  desire  leads  to  the  highest  state  of  man  ;  audit 
bears  this  peculiar  character,  that  it  is  adapted  to  men  in 
every  scale  of  society,  and  tends  to  diffuse  a  beneficial 
influence  around  the  circle  with  which  the  individual  is 
connected. 

As  to  the  nature  of  this  desire,  it  prompts  to  an  habitual 
effort  to  regulate  every  desire  and  every  affection  and 
every  act  by  the  moral  principle,  and  by  the  standard  of 
the  divine  will. 

(7.)  The  Desire  of  Action. 

155.  This  desire  indicates  the  restlessness  of  mind 
which  leads  it  to  require  some  object  on  which  its  powers 
must  be  exercised,  and  without  which  it  preys  upon 
itself  and  becomes  miserable.  The  happiness  of  man 
mainly  consists  in  the  exercise  of  his  bodily  and  mental 
faculties. 

156.  The  design  of  the  Creator  in  implanting  this 
desire  seems  to  have  been,  to  remind  us  that  we  are 
formed  not  for  inactivity,  but  for  the  discharge  of  most 
important  duties.  As  it  is  the  ordination  of  providence 
that  no  acquisition,  usually,  should  be  made  without  labor 
and  effort,  it  is  the  kind  appointment  of  heaven  that  this 
very  labor  should  be  a  source  of  enjoyment.  Whatever 
be  our  rank  or  fortune,  therefore,  we  cannot  be  idle,  with¬ 
out  being  at  the  same  time  unhappy. 

157.  A  person  accustomed  to  a  life  of  activity  longs  for 


CO 


DESIRE  OF  HAPPINESS - OF  ESTEEM 


ease  and  retirement,  and  when  he  has  accomplished  his 
purpose  finds  himself  wretched. 

The  frivolous  engagements  of  the  unoccupied  are  ref¬ 
erable  to  the  same  cause.  They  arise  not  from  any 
interest  which  such  occupations  really  possess,  but  simply 
from  the  desire  of  mental  excitement — the  felicity  of 
having  something  to  do. 

(8.)  The  Desire  of  Happiness,  or  the  Principle  of  Self-lave. 

158.  This  spring  of  action  is  a  propensity  which  leads 
us  to  study  our  own  interest,  gratification,  and  comfort ; 
and  in  many  instances  it  becomes  the  ruling  spring  of 
action. 

Like  the  other  mental  feelings,  it  is  to  be  considered 
as  a  part  of  our  moral  constitution,  and  calculated  to 
answer  important  purposes,  provided  it  be  kept  in  its 
proper  place,  and  do  not  encroach  on  the  duties  and 
affections  which  w'e  owe  to  other  men.  When  thus 
regulated,  it  constitutes  prudence,  or  a  just  regard  to  our 
own  interest,  safety,  and  happiness  ;  when  it  becomes 
morbid  in  its  exercise,  or  interferes  with  the  duties  which 
we  owe  to  others,  it  degenerates  into  selfishness. 

159.  A  sound  and  rational  self-love  ought  to  lead  us  to 
seek  our  own  true  happiness,  and  should  prove  a  check 
upon  those  appetites  and  passions  which  interfere  with 
this.  It  should  lead  us,  therefore,  to  avoid  not  oidy 
everything  that  is  opposed  to  our  interest,  but  everything 
that  is  calculated  to  impair  our  peace  of  mind,  and  that 
harmony  of  the  moral  feelings  without  which  there  can 
be  no  real  happiness.  This  includes  a  due  regulation  of 
the  desires  and  a  due  exercise  of  the  affections,  as  a  moral 
condition  which  promotes  our  happiness  and  comfort. 

160.  Self-love,  as  just  explained,  appears  to  be  placed 
as  a  I’egulating  principle  among  the  other  powers,  much 
inferior  indeed  to  the  great  principle  of  conscience,  so  far 
as  regards  the  moral  condition  of  the  individual,  but  cal¬ 
culated  to  answer  important  purjioses  in  promoting  the 
harmonies  of  society.  This  subject  will  come  again  under 
our  notice. 


(9.)  The  Desire  of  Esteem. 

161.  Esteem  is  given  to  what  is  deemed  right  and  good. 
Admiration  and  ap>piause  are  often  bestowed  upon  quali- 


LOVE  OF  FAME. 


67 


ties  which  have  no  moral  character ;  as  strength,  beauty, 
wit,  and  the  like.  The  want  of  such  qualities  is  a  ground, 
among  many  men,  of  contempt ;  and  if  the  deficiency 
appear  suddenly  and  glaringly,  of  ridicule.  Ridicule  im¬ 
plies  that  the  object  which  excites  it  is  so  palpably  below 
the  standard  which  we  apply  to  it,  that  the  comparison  is 
extravagant  and  absurd. 

The  desire  of  admiration  produces  a  dread  of  this  con¬ 
tempt  and  ridicule.  But  the  desire  of  being  admired, 
for  other  than  moral  excellences,  has  in  it  nothing  of 
virtue. 

162.  The  desire  of  admiration  produces  a  ready  belief 
that  we  are  admired,  and  a  joy  and  elation  of  mind  ac¬ 
companying  such  belief.  This  disposition  is  vanity. 

Vanity  often  leads  a  man  to  aim  at  admiration  for  dis¬ 
tinctions  of  a  very  trivial  character,  or  even  for  qualities 
which  he  does  not  possess.  It  thus  includes  the  love  of 
flattery.  Pride,  on  the  contrary,  as  opposed  to  vanity, 
seems  to  consist  in  a  man’s  entertaining  a  high  opinion 
of  himself,  while  he  is  indifferent  to  the  opinion  of 
others :  thus  we  speak  of  a  man  who  is  too  proud  to  be 
vain. 

163.  From  the  desire  of  esteem  the  love  of  fame  has  its 
origin — one  of  the  strongest  passions  in  the  youthful  and 
ardent  breast.  It  is  to  the  love  of  what  is  called  glory 
that  we  may  impute  much  of  what  is  useful,  and  what  is 
hurtful  in  the  history  of  mankind.  This  was  the  anima¬ 
ting  principle  which  in  other  ages  assembled  the  multi¬ 
tudes  of  Greece  to  the  Olympic  festivals  ;  and  the  aspiring 
candidates  who  entered  the  lists  felt  as  if  the  eyes  of  the 
civilized  world  were  turned  upon  them,  and  as  if  the 
possession  of  the  wreath  of  laurel  in  the  view  of  so  many 
spectators,  gave  to  this  perishable  emblem  of  victory  a 
value  which  no  other  object  of  ambition  could  possess. 
The  desires  of  esteem,  and  power,  and  superiority,  were 
here  all  combining  to  produce  an  appetite  for  glory,  and 
to  make  the  attainment  of  fame  the  first  and  the  dearest 
end  of  existence. 

164.  Though  inferior  to  a  high  sense  of  moral  obliga¬ 
tion,  the  desire  of  esteem  may  yet  he  considered  a  laud¬ 
able  principle  ;  as  when  a  man  seeks  the  approbation 
of  others  by  deeds  of  benevolence,  public  spirit,  or 
patriotism ;  by  actions  calculated  to  promote  the  ad- 


68 


DESIRE  OF  PRAISE. 


vantage  or  the  corafort  either  of  communities  or  of  indi¬ 
viduals. 

165.  The  desire  of  praise  becomes  criminal  when  it 
becomes  the  I’uling  spring  of  our  conduct ;  when  the  re¬ 
gard  which  we  pay  to  the  opinions  of  men  encroaches  on 
that  reverence  which  we  owe  to  the  voice  of  conscience 
and  the  sense  of  duty.  The  proportion  which  this  desire 
holds  to  other  principles  of  action  is  what  renders  it  either 
innocent  or  criminal.  The  crime  charged  by  our  Savior 
upon  the  Jewish  rulers  was,  not  that  they  loved  the  praise 
of  men,  but  that  they  loved  it  more  than  the  praise  of 
God. 

Even  in  cases  where  there  is  no  direct  competition  be¬ 
tween  the  praise  of  men  and  the  praise  of  God,  the  pas¬ 
sion  for  applause  may  become  criminal  by  occupying  the 
place  of  a  better  principle.  We  know  that  good  deeds, 
done  merely  to  he  seen  of  men,  lose  their  reward  with 
God.  If,  in  determining  a  doubtful  question  concern¬ 
ing  our  conduct,  the  first  question  which  occurs  to  us 
be,  not  whether  an  action  is  right  in  itself,  and  such  as 
a  good  man  ought  to  perform,  but  whether  it  is  such 
as  will  find  acceptance  with  the  world,  and  be  favorable 
to  our  fame,  the  conclusion  is  too  evident,  that  the  desire 
of  applause  has  obtained  an  undue  ascendant.  What  a 
wise  and  good  man  ought  to  study,  is  to  preserve  his 
mind  free  from  such  solicitude  concerning  praise  as  may 
be  in  hazard  of  overcoming  his  sense  of  duty.  The  ap¬ 
probation  of  men  he  may  wish  to  obtain,  as  far  as  is  con¬ 
sistent  with  the  approbation  of  God.  But  when  both 
cannot  be  enjoyed  together,  there  ought  to  be  no  sus¬ 
pense.  He  is  to  show  that,  in  the  cause  of  truth  and 
virtue,  he  is  superior  to  human  opinion.  [Dr.  Blair.] 

166.  Regard  to  the  opinion  of  others  is  the  origin  of 
our  respect  to  character  in  matters  which  do  not  come 
under  the  higher  principle  of  morals,  and  is  of  extensive 
influence  in  promoting  the  harmonies,  proprieties,  and 
decencies  of  society.  It  is  thus  the  foundation  of  good¬ 
breeding,  and  leads  to  kindness  and  accommodation  in 
little  matters  which  do  not  belonsr  to  the  class  of  duties. 

O 

It  is  also  the  source  of  what  we  usually  call  decorum  and 
propriety,  which  lead  a  man  to  conduct  himself  in  a  man¬ 
ner  becoming  his  character  and  circumstances,  in  regard 
to  things  which  do  not  involve  any  higher  principle. 


DESIRE  OF  PRAISE. 


69 


There  are  many  actions,  not  really  wrong,  by  which  a 
man  may  render  himself  despised  and  ridiculous. 

[See  Dr.  Dewar,  vol.  i.  pp.  414-417.] 

167.  The  following  considerations  may  serve  to  restrain 
within  due  bounds  our  desire  for  human  praise  : — 

(1.)  The  applause  of  the  world  is  not  always  the  reward 
of  merit,  but  is  too  often  lavished  upon  the  despicable  and 
the  vile. 

(2.)  It  is  important  to  consider  from  whence  popular 
applause  generally  proceeds  :  it  is  not  from  the  discerning 
few,  and  the  good,  but  from  a  mixed  multitude  who  in 
their  whole  conduct  are  guided  by  humor  and  caprice  far 
more  than  by  reason  ;  who  inquire  superficially  and  judge 
rashly,  and  often  erroneously. 

(3.)  The  applause  of  men,  unlike  that  of  the  Supreme 
Being,  proceeds  from  a  view  of  external  actions  only,  and 
may  therefore  be  wrongly  placed,  and  worthless. 

(4.)  Consider  how  narrow  and  circumscribed,  as  to 
place,  and  time,  and  persons,  that  fame  is,  which  the  vain¬ 
glorious  man  so  eagerly  pursues. 

(5.)  An  excessive  love  of  human  praise  never  falls  to 
undermine  the  regard  due  to  conscience,  and  to  corrupt 
the  heart.  It  turns  off  the  eye  of  the  mind  from  the  ends 
it  ought  chiefly  to  have  in  view  ;  and  sets  up  a  false  light  for 
its  guide.  It  frequently  impels  men  to  actions  which  are 
directly  criminal.  It  obliges  them  to  follow  the  current 
of  popular  opinion  wheresoever  it  may  lead  them,  and 
hence  shipwreck  is  often  made  of  a  good  conscience. 

[Dr.  Blair.] 

(6.)  How  trifling  in  our  estimation  would  seem  the 
praise  of  man,  did  we  allow  ourselves  more  constantly  to 
believe  that  to  love  it  more  than  the  praise  of  God  is  one 
of  the  greatest  crimes,  and  that  its  possession  cannot  pre¬ 
vent  the  wicked,  at  a  future  period,  from  rising  to  shame 
and  everlasting  contempt  ! 

168.  Imperishable  fame  is  to  be  obtained,  not  in  the 
pursuit  of  the  praise  of  men,  but  in  the  faithful  perform¬ 
ance  of  our  duty. 

138.  How  do  the  desires  differ  from  the  appetites  ? 

130.  What  is  necessary  to  a  sound  moral  condition  of  the  desires? 

140.  May  not  the  desires  be  ill-regulated  and  vicious,  while  the  outward 
conduct  is  blameless  ? 

141.  What  are  our  principal  desires  ? 

142.  How  is  the  desire  of  safety  manifested  in  man  ? 


70 


GENERAL  REMARKS. 


143.  How  is  the  desire  of  property  manifested  in  man  ? 

144.  What  gives  moral  character  to  the  pursuit  of  wealth? 

145.  What  is  frequently  the  progress  of  men’s  habits  in  the  pursuit 
of  wealth  ? 

146.  In  what  prominent  forms  does  the  desire  of  society  appear?’ 

147.  What  other  spring  of  action  is  intimately  connected  with  the  ex¬ 
istence  of  society,  and  in  some  measure  implied  in  what  has  been  said? 

148.  Is  the  desire  of  superiority  and  the  desire  of  power  an  identical  de¬ 
sire? 

149.  What  illustrations  of  this  desire  in  man  may  be  mentioned? 

150.  How  does  the  desire  of  knowledge  operate  ? 

151.  To  what  actions  does  the  desire  of  knowledge  impel  us? 

152.  How  should  this  desire  be  regulated? 

153.  What  desire  is  nearly  allied  to  the  desire  of  acquiring  knowledge? 

154.  What  is  the  nature  and  tendency  of  the  desire  of  moral  improve¬ 
ment? 

155.  What  is  the  nature  of  the  desire  of  action? 

156.  What  is  the  obvious  design  of  the  Creator  in  the  implantation  of 
this  desire  ? 

157.  What  facts  may  be  explained  by  a  reference  to  this  desire  of  ac¬ 
tion  ? 

158.  What  is  the  nature  of  the  desire  of  happiness  ? 

159.  What  should  be  the  influence  of  a  sound  and  rational  self-love? 

160.  What  relation  does  self-love  bear  to  our  other  active  powers? 

161.  What  difference  with  respect  to  virtue,  is  to  be  made  between  the 
desire  of  esteem,  and  the  desire  of  admiration  ? 

162.  What  vicious  disposition  is  allied  to,  and  produced  by,  the  desire 
of  admiration  ? 

163.  What  desire  is  nearly  allied  to  the  desire  of  esteem? 

164.  When  may  the  desire  of  esteem  and  of  approbation  be  regarded  as 
virtuous  ? 

165.  Beyond  what  limits  does  the  desire  of  praise  become  criminal? 

166.  What  good  influence  may  the  love  of  approbation  exert  upon  the 
social  intercourse  of  men  ? 

167.  What  consideration  should  serve  to  restrain  within  due  bounds 
our  desire  for  human  praise  ? 

168.  What  is  the  only  true  basis  of  an  imperishable  fame? 

[Abercrombie  ;  Whewell ;  Dewar.] 


CHAPTER  VI. 

GENERAL  REMARKS  UPON  THE  ACTIVE  PRINCIPLES 
ALREADY  CONSIDERED. 

169.  We  consider  our  reason,  rather  than  our  desires 
and  affections,  as  being  ourselves.  We  speak  of  desire, 
love,  anger,  as  mastering  us,  or  of  ourselves  as  controlling 
them.  Further,  we  apply  to  desire  and  affections,  when 
uncontrolled  by  reason,  the  term  passion,  as  if  man  in 
such  cases  were  passive  and  merely  acted  on  ;  and  as  if 
he  were  really  active  only  when  he  acts  in  conformity 
with  his  reason. 


MORAL  CAUSES. 


71 


Still  it  is  to  be  maintained  that  man,  under  the  influence 
of  such  passions,  is  not  really  passive.  When  he  acts  un¬ 
der  such  influences  he  adopts  the  suggestions  of  desire  or 
affection,  and  rejects  the  control  of  reason  ;  but  this  he 
does  in  all  violations  of  reasonable  rules.  To  say  that 
passion  is  irresistible,  is  to  annihilate  reason,  and  to  ex¬ 
clude  the  most  essential  condition  of  human  action. 

170.  The  act  of  volition  is  ordinarily  the  result  of  the 
following  process: — We  desire  an  object,  or  we  expe¬ 
rience  one  of  the  affections  or  springs  of  action  ;  the  next 
mental  act  is  proposing  to  ourselves  the  question.  Shall 
we  gratify  the  desire — shall  we  exercise  the  affection  ] 
Then  follows  the  process  of  considering  or  deliberating. 
We  perceive,  perhaps,  a  variety  of  motives,  considera¬ 
tions,  or  inducements,  some  of  which  are  in  favor  of  grati¬ 
fying  the  desire  or  exercising  the  affection,  others  opposed 
to  it.  We  therefore  proceed  to  weigh  the  relative  force 
of  these  opposing  motives,  with  the  view  of  determining 
which  of  them  we  shall  allow  to  regulate  our  decision. 
We  at  length  make  up  our  mind  on  this,  and  resolve,  we 
shall  suppose,  to  do  the  act ;  this  is  followed  by  the  men¬ 
tal  condition  of  willing,  or  simple  volition. 

171.  It  is  necessary  that  the  individual  on  whom  mo¬ 
tives  are  expected  to  operate  should  be  fully  informed  in 
regard  to  them  as  truths  addressed  to  the  understanding ; 
that  he  direct  his  attention  to  them  with  suitable  intensity, 
and  exercise  his  reasoning  powers  upon  their  tendency ; 
and  that  he  be  himself  in  a  certain  healthy  state  of  moral 
feeling. 

172.  In  all  our  intercourse  with  mankind,  we  proceed 
upon  an  absolute  confidence  in  the  uniformity  of  the 
operation  of  moral  causes,  or  motives,  provided  we  are 
acquainted  with  the  moral  condition  of  the  individual. 
We  can  foretell,  for  example,  the  respective  effects  which 
a  tale  of  distress  will  have  upon  a  cold-hearted  miser,  and 
a  man  of  active  benevolence,  with  the  same  confidence 
with  which  we  can  j^redict  the  different  action  of  an  acid 
upon  an  alkali  and  upon  a  metal ;  and  there  are  individ¬ 
uals  in  regard  to  whose  integrity  and  veracity,  in  any 
situation  in  which  they  can  be  placed,  we  have  a  confi¬ 
dence  similar  to  that  with  which  we  rely  on  the  course 
of  nature.  In  this  manner  we  gradually  acquire,  by  ex¬ 
perience,  a  knowledge  of  mankind  ;  precisely  as,  by 


72 


CONSCIENCE  AN  ORIGINAL  FACULTY. 


observation  or  experiment,  we  acquire  a  knowledge  of 
the  operation  of  physical  agents. 

We  learn  hence  that  different  motives  must  be  used 
with  different  individuals  to  influence  them  to  the  same 
conduct ;  and  we  proceed  on  the  conviction  that  certain 
motives  or  truths  have  a  certain  uniform  tendency  to  in¬ 
fluence  the  volitions  of  a  moral  being,  provided  he  can  be 
induced  seriously  to  attend  to  them,  and  is  in  the  moral 
condition  required  for  their  efficiency. 

[Abercrombie ;  Whewell.] 


169.  What  practical  distinction  is  made  between  the  reason  or  con¬ 
science  and  our  desires  and  affections  ? 

170.  What  is  the  ordinary  process  by  which  a  reflecting  person 'comes 
to  the  act  of  volition  or  willing  ? 

171.  What  is  necessary  to  the  due  operation  of  motives  or  moral  causes  ? 

172.  Is  there  an  established  uniformity  in  the  operation  of  moral  causes  ? 


CHAPTER  VIL 

OF  THE  MORAL  FACULTY,  OR  CONSCIENCE,  AND  ITS 
OPERATIONS. 

SECTION  I.— CONSCIENCE  IS  AN  ORIGINAL  FACULTY. 

173.  Conscience  is  the  faculty  by  which  we  distinguish 
right  from  wrong  in  regard  to  conduct,  desires,  or  affec¬ 
tions  ;  by  which  we  apjrrove  of  what  is  deemed  right,  and 
disapprove  of  what  is  deemed  wrong  ;  by  which  we  are 
impelled  to  practice  what  is  judged  to  be  right,  and  pro- 
hibited  from  doing  what  is  regarded  as  wrong. 

Some  have  objected  to  the  doctrine  that  conscience  is 
to  be  regarded  as  a  distinct  faculty  of  the  mind,  and  pre¬ 
fer  to  regard  it  as  merely  the  exercise  of  its  other  facul¬ 
ties  upon  a  particular  subject,  and  in  a  particular  form. 
It  has  been  pronounced  to  be  an  operation  of  the  judg¬ 
ment,  comparing  our  actions  with  the  standard  of  duty, 
and  pronouncing  their  agreement  or  disagreement. 

But  in  favor  of  the  first  view  taken  it  may  be  said,  that 
if  we  attribute  to  the  mind  the  faculty  of  understanding, 
because  it  is  capable  of  knowledge  ;  the  faculty  of  judg¬ 
ment  because  it  compares ;  the  faculty  of  will,  because  it 
chooses  and  refuses ;  there  seems  to  be  no  good  reason 
why  we  should  not  attribute  to  it  also  the  faculty  of  con- 


CONSCIENCE. 


73 


science,  because  it  distinguishes  right  and  wrong,  and 
approves  and  disapproves  of  our  actions. 

[See  Reid’s  Works,  vol.  iii.  pp.  164-172.] 

174.  That  we  have  moral  judgments — notions  of  actions 
as  virtuous,  or  the  contrary — will  not  be  denied  ;  and  that 
such  judgments  are  presupposed,  in  our  moral  emotions, 
is  manifest  from  the  circumstance  that  the  latter  are  uni¬ 
formly  governed,  and  may  be  reversed,  by  the  former. 
Let  an  action  be  ever  so  praiseworthy,  it  excites  no  feel¬ 
ing  of  approbation  if  we  do  not  judge  it  to  be  a  right 
action.  And,  on  the  contrary,  let  it  be  ever  so  flagitious, 
it  awakens  no  feeling  of  condemnation  if  it  be  not  con¬ 
sidered  an  improper  action. 

Persecution  on  the  ground  of  religious  opinion  will  be 
allowed  to  be  censurable  and  criminal ;  yet  the  mind  of 
the  persecutor  Saul  did  not  disapprove  either  of  his  own 
conduct  or  of  that  of  his  companions  in  iniquity,  because 
he  verily  thought  that  he  ought  to  do  many  things  con¬ 
trary  to  the  name  of  Christ.  Here  it  is  evident  that 
judgment  preceded  and  governed  feeling.  How  can  it 
be  doubted,  especially  as  we  find  that  at  a  future  period, 
when  his  moral  judgment  was  reversed,  his  feelings  also 
underwent  a  change ;  and  that  he  then  so  strongly  con¬ 
demned  the  conduct  he  had  once  approved,  as  to  include 
it  in  the  catalogue  of  his  greatest  sins,  that  he  had  perse¬ 
cuted  the  church  of  God.  [Payne’s  Moral  Science.] 


173.  What  mental  faculty  is  described  by  the  term  conscience  ? 

174.  How  does  it  appear  that  moral  judgments  are  presupposed  in  our 
moral  emotions  of  approbation  and  disapprobation  ? 

SECTION  II.— WANT  OF  UNIFORMITY  IN  ITS  DECISIONS. 

175.  There  is  a  course  of  reasoning  against  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  a  moral  faculty  more  specious  than  solid,  and 
which  might  be  employed  with  equal  success  to  disprove 
any  other  of  our  mental  faculties.  It  might  with  equal 
plausibility  be  argued  that  we  have  not  the  power  of  per¬ 
ceiving  truth,  because  some  individuals  are  born  idiots, 
and  men  in  all  ages  have  been  subject  to  the  strongest 
illusions,  and  have  embraced  innumerable  errors ;  and 
what  has  been  admitted  as  unquestionably  true  at  one 
time,  has  been  rejected  as  manifestly  false  at  another. 
But,  moreover,  the  different  state  of  feeling  with  which 

D 


74 


DIVERSITY  IN  MORAL  JUDGMENTS. 


the  same  action  Is  contemplated  is  to  be  ascribed  to  the 
different  views  which  are  taken  of  its  moral  character. 

To  say  nothing  of  parricide,  infanticide,  the  offering  up  of 
human  saci'ifices — practices  abhorred  by  us,  but  approved, 
at  least  not  disapproved,  by  multitudes — how  is  it  to  be  ex¬ 
plained  that  one  half  of  the  inhabitants  of  our  own  country 
practice  habitually,  without  any  self-reproach,  modes  of 
conduct  which  the  other  half  cannot  witness  without 
powerful  feelings  of  disapprobation  ]  Is  it  not  the  case 
that  their  moral  judgments  differ,  and  that,  from  this  dif¬ 
ference,  there  results  a  corresponding  difference  of  moral 
feeling  % 

We  do  not  then  merely  form  notions  of  actions  as  right 
or  wrong,  but  we  approve  of  the  one,  and  disapprove  of 
the  other.  The  mind  has  an  original  susceptibility  of 
moral  emotion  ;  but  this  emotion  does  not  arise  on  the 
mere  contemplation  of  an  action  ;  it  follou's,  and  is  gov¬ 
erned  by  the  moral  judgment  which  the  mind  forms  of  it. 
[Payne’s  Moral  Science.  See  also  Chalmers’  Works,  vol.  i.  pp.  339, 340.] 

176.  The  diversity  in  the  moral  judgments  of  men  may 
be  accounted  for,  without  rejecting  the  idea  of  a  moral  fac¬ 
ulty  or  conscience,  by  adverting  to  three  considerations. 

(1.)  To  the  different  situations  in  which  mankind  are 
placed,  partly  by  the  diversity  in  their  physical  circum¬ 
stances,  and  partly  by  the  unequal  degrees  of  civilization 
which  they  have  attained. 

(2.)  To  the  diversity  of  their  speculative  opinions,  aris¬ 
ing  from  their  unequal  measures  of  knowledge  or  of  ca¬ 
pacity  ;  and 

(3.)  To  the  different  moral  import  of  the  same  action, 
under  different  systems  of  external  behavior. 

These  considerations  are  explained,  at  length,  by  Du- 
gald  Stewart  [Works,  vol.  book  ii.  chap.  3];  and  a 
complete  answer  is  thus  furnished  to  the  objections  of  Dr. 
Paley  and  others  against  the  existence  of  a  moral  faculty. 

[See  also  Smith’s  Moral  Philosophy,  vol.  i.] 

175.  How  is  it  to  be  accounted  for,  if  all  men  possess  the  faculty  of 
conscience,  above  described,  that  the  same  action  is  approved  by  some 
and  disapproved  by  others  ;  that  its  operations  are  not  uniform,  and  that  it 
seems  to  be  wanting  in  some  individuals;  that  what  is  esteemed  virtuous 
at  one  time,  becomes  vicious  at  another?  It  is  asked  also  whether  con¬ 
science  is  not  thus  proved  to  be  a  mere  factitious  thing;  the  result  not  of 
the  constitution  of  our  nature,  but  of  education  and  custom? 

176.  What  circumstances  give  rise  to  the  diversity  in  the  moral  judg¬ 
ments  of  men  in  different  countries,  respecting  certain  practices  or  opinions  ? 


SENSE  OF  DUTY  AN  ULTIMATE  FEELING. 


75 


SECTION  III.— CONSCIENCE  IMPLIES  A  SENSE  OF  OBLIGATION. 

177.  To  possess  notions  of  right  and  wrong  in  human 
conduct ;  to  be  convinced  that  we  ought  to  do  or  to  forbear 
an  action,  implies  and  supposes  a  sense  of  obligation  ex¬ 
istent  in  the  mind.  A  man  who  feels  that  it  is  wrong  for 
him  to  do  a  thing,  possesses  a  sense  of  obligation  to  re¬ 
frain.  This  is  a  property  of  our  moral  constitution. 

178.  In  most  men,  the  sense  of  obligation  refers,  with 
greater  or  less  distinctness,  to  the  will  of  a  superior  be¬ 
ing.  The  impression,  however  obscure,  is,  in  general, 
fundamentally  this  :  I  must  do  so  or  so,  because  God 
requires  it. 

179.  That  a  sense  of  duty  is  not  resolvable  into  a  re¬ 
gard  to  our  own  happiness,  but  is  an  ultimate  feeling, 
seems  to  be  established  by  the  following  arguments  : — 

(1.)  There  are,  in  all  languages,  words  equivalent  to 
duty  and  interest,  which  men  have  constantly  distinguished 
in  their  signification.  They  may  coincide  in  their  appli¬ 
cation,  but  they  convey  very  different  ideas.  When  I 
wish  to  persuade  a  man  to  a  particular  action,  I  address 
some  of  my  arguments  to  a  sense  of  duty,  and  others  to 
the  regard  he  has  to  his  own  interest. 

(2.)  The  emotions  arising  from  the  contemplation  of 
what  is  right  and  wrong  in  conduct  are  different,  both 
in  kind  and  degree,  from  those  which  are  produced  by  a 
calm  regard  to  our  owm  happiness. 

(3.)  Although  a  sense  of  duty,  and  an  enlightened  re¬ 
gard  to  our  own  happiness,  conspire,  in  most  instances, 
to  give  the  same  direction  to  our  conduct,  so  as  to  put  it 
beyond  a  doubt,  that,  even  in  this  world,  a  virtuous  life  is 
true  wisdom,  yet  this  is  a  truth  by  no  means  obvious  to 
the  common  sense  of  mankind,  but  deduced  from  an  ac¬ 
curate  investigation  of  the  remote  consequences  of  our  dif¬ 
ferent  actions.  And  therefore  the  great  lessons  of  moral¬ 
ity  which  are  obvious  to  all  mankind  could  never  have 
been  suggested  to  them  merely  by  a  regard  to  their  own 
interest. 

(4.)  Moral  judgments  are  formed  at  an  early  period  of 
life,  before  children  are  able  to  form  the  general  notion 
of  happiness  ;  indeed  in  the  very  infancy  of  their  reason. 

[Dugald  Stewart’s  Works,  vol.  v.  book  ii.  chap.  2  ;  Reid’s  Works,  vol. 
hi.  p.  150.] 


7G 


SUPREMACY  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


177.  Do  our  moral  judgments  and  emotions  involve  a  sense  of  obliga¬ 
tion? 

178  To  what  object  does  a  sense  of  moral  obligation  refer? 

179.  How  does  it  appear  that  a  sense  of  duty  is  not  resolvable,  as  some 
suppose,  into  a  regard  to  our  own  happiness,  but  is  an  ultimate  and  dis¬ 
tinct  feeling  ? 

SECTION  IV.— SUPREMACY  OF  CONSCIENCE. 

180.  It  is  manifest,  both  from  reason  and  Scripture, 
that  the  authority  of  conscience  is  great.  When  a  man 
believes,  upon  due  deliberation,  that  a  certain  action  is 
right,  that  action  is  right  to  Mm  ;  and  he  is  to  be  held 
guilty  if  he  violates  his  conscience  ;  if  he  does  one  thing 
while  his  sense  of  obligation  is  directed  to  its  contrary. 

181.  That  conscience  has  a  natural  right  to  regulate  the 
whole  human  system  is  evident  from  the  following  con¬ 
siderations  : — 

(1.)  It  may  be  innocent  or  praiseworthy  in  certain  cir¬ 
cumstances,  to  counteract  our  bodily  appetites  and  re¬ 
fuse  to  gratify  them  ;  but  to  counteract  the  dictates  of 
conscience,  is  felt  to  be  blamable. 

(2.)  The  dictates  of  conscience  are  universally  regarded 
as  more  sacred  than  the  pi'inciples  of  taste,  and  of  a  higher 
character.  These  may  be  violated,  and  yet  the  violator 
is  not  viewed  as  committing  a  crime  ;  not  so  the  violator 
of  the  dictates  of  conscience. 

(3.)  The  supremacy  of  conscience  is  often  asserted 
with  awful  power,  when,  in  the  midst  even  of  outward 
prosperity,  it  makes  the  transgressor  miserable,  and  when 
the  transgressor  is  about  to  die  and  has  nothing  to  fear 
from  man. 

182.  The  conclusion  is,  that  to  allow  no  more  to  this 
part  than  to  other  parts  of  our  nature  ;  to  let  it  guide  and 
govern  only  occasionally,  in  common  with  the  rest,  as  its 
turn  happens  to  come, — this  is  not  to  act  conformably  to 
the  constitution  of  man. 

And  though  conscience  may  lose  its  power  when  borne 
down  by  evil  habits  or  tumultuous  passion,  as  the  strongest 
man  by  being  kept  long  in  fetters  may  lose  the  use  of  his 
limbs,  yet  conscience  still  retains  its  authority,  that  is,  its 
right  to  govern.  It  prescribes  measures  to  every  appe¬ 
tite,  affection,  and  passion,  and  says  to  every  other  princi¬ 
ple  of  action,  so  far  thou  onayst  go,  but  no  farther. 

Hence  it  may  be  seen  how  foolishly  those  men  argue 
who  give  way  to  all  their  passions  without  reserve,  and 


SUPEEMACY  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


77 


excuse  themselves  by  saying,  that  every  passion  is  natu¬ 
ral,  and  that  they  cannot  be  blamed  for  doing  what  nature 
prompts  them  to  do.  It  is  only  a  part,  and  that  confess¬ 
edly  an  inferior  part  of  their  nature,  that  prompts  them 
to  such  indulgence.  Their  nature,  as  a  whole,  remon¬ 
strates  against  such  indulgence.  It  is  therefore  unnatural, 
in  the  proper  sense  of  that  word,  and  therefore  to  be 
condemned  and  abandoned.  [Beattie’s  Mor.  Science.] 

“  Mad  !  (thou  reply’st,  with  indignation  fired) 

Of  ancient  sages  proud  to  tread  the  step, 

I  follow  nature. — Follow  nature  still. 

But  look  it  be  thine  own  Is  conscience,  then, 

N o  part  of  nature  ?  Is  she  not  supreme  ? 

Thou  regicide  !  O  raise  her  from  the  dead  ! 

Then  follow  nature;  and  resemble  God.  Young. 

Dr.  Chalmers  well  remarks: — “We  do  not  urge  the 
proposition  that  conscience  has  in  every  instance  the  actual 
direction  of  human  affairs,  for  this  were  in  the  face  of  all 
experience.  It  is  not  that  every  man  obeys  her  dictates, 
but  that  every  man  feels  he  ought  to  obey  them.  It  is  not 
the  reigning,  but  the  rightful  authority  of  conscience,  that 
we,  under  the  name  of  her  supremacy,  contend  for.” 

•  [Works,  vol.  i.  pp.  31G,  317.] 

183.  The  practical  reason  for  insisting  so  much  upon 
the  natural  authority  of  conscience,  is,  that  it  seems  in  a 
great  measure  overlooked  by  many,  who  are  by  no  means 
the  worst  sort  of  men.  It  is  thought  sufficient  to  abstain 
from  gross  wickedness,  and  to  be  humane  and  kind  to 
such  as  happen  to  come  in  their  way.  Whereas,  in  reality, 
the  very  constitution  of  our  nature  requires,  that  we  bring 
our  whole  conduct  before  this  stiperior  faculty  ;  wait  its 
determination  ;  enforce  upon  ourselves  its  authority,  and 
make  it  the  business  of  our  lives,  as  it  is  absolutely  the 
whole  business  of  a  moral  agent,  to  conform  ourselves  to 
it.  This  is  the  true  meaning  of  that  ancient  precept, 
reverence  thyself. 

[Butler’s  Preface  to'his  Sermons  on  Human  Nature.] 

184.  The  teaching  of  the  sacred  volume  is  in  conform¬ 
ity  to  the  foregoing  remarks.  In  the  14th  chapter  of  Ro¬ 
mans  it  is  declared — “  One  believeth  that  he  may  eat  all 
things :  another,  who  is  weak,  eateth  herbs.  One  man 
esteemeth  one  day  above  another :  another,  esteemeth 
every  day  alike.”  Here,  then,  are  differences,  nay,  con¬ 
trarieties  of  conscientious  judgments.  In  these  circum- 


78 


AUTHORITY  OP  CONSCIENCE. 


stances,  Paul  says  to  the  parties,  “  Let  every  man  be  fully 
persuaded  in  his  own  mind that  is,  let  every  man  be 
careful  to  satisfy  himself  that  what  he  is  doing  is  right. 
The  situation  of  these  parties  was,  that  one  perceived  the 
truth  upon  the  subject,  and  the  other  did  not ;  in  the  one, 
the  sense  of  obligation  was  connected  with  an  accui'ate, 
in  the  other,  with  an  inaccurate  opinion. 

Thus  again :  —  “  J  know,  and  am  persuaded  by  the 
Lord  Jesus,  that  there  is  nothing  unclean  of  itself;” 
therefore,  absolutely  speaking,  it  is  lawful  to  eat  all 
things ;  “  but  to  him  that  estcemeth  anything  to  be  un¬ 
clean,  to  him  it  is  unclean.”  That  is,  it  is  wrong  for  any 
man  to  violate  his  own  sense  of  duty.  To  the  doubter, 
the  sin  of  eating  was  certain,  though  the  act  was  right  in 
itself. 

Again,  as  a  general  rule,  “  He  that  doubteth,  is  con¬ 
demned  if  he  eat,  hecause  he  eateth  not  of  faith ;  for 
whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin  that  is,  whatever  we  do 
which  we  are  not  sure  is  right,  is  wrong. 

[Hodge  on  Romans  xiv.] 

185.  Men  sometimes  make  light  of  the  authority  of 
conscience.  They  exclaim  :  “  Every  man  pleads  hi-s 
conscientious  opinions,  and  that  he  is  bound  in  conscience 
to  do  this  or  that ;  and  yet  his  neighbor  makes  the  same 
plea,  and  urges  the  same  obligation,  to  do  just  the  con¬ 
trary.” 

186.  The  alleged  fact  contained  in  this  remark  is  true; 
but  it  only  pi'oves  that  conscience  is  not  an  unerring 
standard  of  action,  is  not  alone  a  safe  guide ;  but  it  is  far 
from  proving  that  conscience  is  not  an  authoritative  prin¬ 
ciple,  to  which  we  are  bound  to  yield  obedience. 

Historical  Illustration. 

187.  A  jeweler,  of  good  character  and  considerable 
wealth,  having  occasion,  in  the  way  of  his  business,  to 
travel  at  some  distance  from  the  place  of  his  abode,  took 
along  with  him  a  servant,  in  order  to  take  care  of  his  port¬ 
manteau.  He  had  with  him  some  of  his  best  jewels,  and 
a  large  sum  of  money,  to  which  his  servant  was  likewise 
privy. 

The  master  having  dismounted,  the  servant,  watching 
his  opportunity,  took  a  pistol  from  his  master’s  saddle, 
and  shot  him  dead  on  the  spot ;  then  robbed  him  of  his 


POWER  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


79 


jewels  and  money  ;  and,  hanging  a  large  stone  to  his  neck, 
he  threw  him  into  the  nearest  canal. 

With  this  booty,  he  made  off  to  a  distant  part  of  the 
country,  where  he  had  reason  to  believe  that  neither  he 
nor  his  master  was  known.  There  he  began  to  trade, 
in  a  very  low  way  at  first  that  his  obscurity  might  screen 
him  from  observ^ation,  and,  in  the  course  of  a  good  many 
years,  seemed  to  rise  by  natural  progress  of  business  into 
wealth  and  consideration :  so  that  his  good  fortune  ap¬ 
peared  at  once  the  effect  and  the  reward  of  industry  and 
virtue. 

Of  these  he  counterfeited  the  appearance  so  well  that 
he  grew  into  great  credit,  married  into  a  good  family, 
and,  by  laying  out  his  sudden  stores  discreetly,  as  he  saw 
occasion,  and  joining  to  all  a  universal  affability,  he  was 
admitted  to  a  share  of  the  government  of  the  town,  and 
rose  from  one  post  to  another,  till  at  length  he  was  chosen 
chief  magistrate. 

In  this  office  he  maintained 'a  fair  character,  and  con¬ 
tinued  to  fill  it  with  no  small  applause,  both  as  a  governor 
and  judge  ;  till  one  day  as  he  sat  upon  the  bench  with 
some  of  his  brethren,  a  criminal  was  brought  before  him, 
who  was  accused  of  murdering  his  master. 

The  evidence  came  out  full,  the  jury  brought  in  their 
verdict  that  the  prisoner  was  guilty,  and  the  whole  assem¬ 
bly  waited  the  sentence  of  the  president  of  the  court 
(which  he  happened  to  be  that  day)  with  great  suspense. 
Meanwhile  he  appeared  to  be  in  unusual  disorder  and 
agitation  of  mind ;  his  color  changed  often,  and  at  length 
he  arose  from  his  seat,  and  coming  down  from  the  bench, 
placed  himself  just  by  the  unfortunate  man  at  the  bar,  to 
the  no  small  astonishment  of  all  present. 

“You  see  before  you,”  said  he,  addressing  himself  to 
those  who  sat  on  the  bench,  “  a  striking  instance  of  the 
just  awards  of  heaven,  which,  this  day,  after  thirty  years' 
concealment,  presents  to  you  a  greater  criminal  than  the 
man  just  now  found  guilty.”  He  then  made  an  ample 
confession  of  his  guilt  and  of  all  the  aggravations  of  his 
crime.  “  Nor  can  I  feel,”  continued  he,  “  any  relief  from 
the  agonies  of  an  awakened  conscience,  but  by  requiring 
that  justice  be  forthwith  done  against  me  in  the  most 
public  and  solemn  manner.” 

We  may  easily  suppose  the  amazement  of  the  whole 


80 


IMPERFECTION  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


assembly,  and  especially  of  bis  fellow  judges.  However, 
they  proceeded,  upon  bis  confession,  to  pass  sentence 
upon  him:  and  he  died  with  all  the  manifestations  of  a 
penitent  mind,  [Beauties  of  History.] 

180.  What  authority  belongs  to  conscience  as  a  director  of  individual 
conduct  ? 

181.  How  does  it  appear  that  this  faculty  has  a  natural  right  to  regulate 
the  whole  human  system  ? 

182.  What  conclusion  may  be  drawn  from  these  facts? 

183.  What  is  the  practical  reason  for  insisting  so  much  upon  the  nat¬ 
ural  authority  of  conscience  ? 

184.  What  is  the  teaching  of  Scripture  respecting  the  authority  of 
conscience  ? 

185.  In  what  way  do  men  sometimes  make  light  of  the  authority  of 
conscience  ? 

186.  What  reply  is  to  be  made  to  such  a  remark? 

187.  What  historical  illustration  may  be  given  of  the  power  of  con¬ 
science  ? 

SECTION  V.— ON  THE  IMPERFECTION  OF  CONSCIENCE. 

188.  A  MAN  may  act  according  to  his  conscience  and 
yet  commit  a  very  criminal  act.  Thefts,  frauds,  homicides 
have  often  been  committed  in  accordance  with  conscience. 
The  crime,  however,  lies  not  in  acting  according  to  con¬ 
science,  but  in  the  state  of  mind  or  course  of  life  which 
made  that  appear  right  which  in  fact  was  wrong. 

Men  often  judge  amiss  respecting  their  duties  in  con¬ 
sequence  of  their  own  faults.  Some  take  little  pains  to 
ascertain  the  truth ;  some  voluntarily  exclude  knowledge ; 
and  most  persons  would  possess  more  accurate  percep¬ 
tions  of  the  moral  law  if  they  sufficiently  endeavored  to 
obtain  them.  And,  therefore,  although  a  man  may  not  be 
criminal  in  performing  a  given  act  which  he  ignorantly 
supposes  to  be  lawful,  he  may  be  punished  for  that  igno¬ 
rance  or  vice  in  which  his  wrong  supposition  originates. 

189.  It  appears  then  that  men  ought  to  act  at  all  times  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  dictates  of  conscience  when  there  is  no  doubt 
or  suspense  in  their  minds :  if  the  case  is  not  clear,  it  is  evi¬ 
dent  that  they  should  wait  till,  by  the  due  use  of  means,  they 
have  ascertained  what  is  their  duty.  If  conscience  should 
pronounce  anything  to  be  a  crime  which  is  not  a  crime,  they 
ought  to  abstain  because  they  do  not  know  the  judgment 
to  be  eiToneous,  and  would  not  bo  guiltless  if  they  should 
act  in  opposition  to  it.  The  reason  is,  that  supposing,  as 
they  may,  the  voice  of  conscience  to  be  the  voice  of  God, 
they  could  not  transgress  its  orders,  without  expressly 


I3IPERFECTI0N  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


81 


rebelling  against  what  appeared  to  them  to  he  the  au¬ 
thority  of  God.  “  There  is  nothing  unclean  of  itself  (no 
meat) ;  hut  to  him  that  esteemeth  anything  to  he  unclean, 
to  him  it  is  unclean.”  The  apostle  Paul  (Rom.  xiv.  14) 
is  speaking  of  an  action  which  was  not  sinful  in  itself,  and 
yet  he  declares  that  it  was  sinful  to  the  man  whose  con¬ 
science  pronounced  it  to  be  such.  The  judgment  of 
conscience  does  not  change  the  nature  of  actions,  hut  it 
changes  them  to  us  ;  because  the  authority  of  God  seems 
to  us  to  be  interposed  either  to  command  or  to  forbid.  In 
the  case  to  which  Paul  referred,  the  sin  did  not  consist 
properly  in  the  action  itself,  but  in  doing  it  with  the  per¬ 
suasion  that  it  was  sinful. 

[Lectures  by  Dr.  John  Dick,  vol.  ii.  p.  270.] 

190.  The  value  of  conscience  as  a  moral  guide  has  been 
overrated  by  some  writers  in  consequence  of  neglecting 
to  consider  the  fact  that  man  is  in  a  state  of  moral  de¬ 
pravity,  and  thus  exposed  to  the  undue  influence  of  his 
appetites  and  passions,  of  prejudices  and  temptations, 
that  tend  to  obscure  and  pervert  his  moral  judgment, 
and  to  weaken  the  authority,  or  rather  the  power  of  con¬ 
science. 

In  the  account,  for  instance,  that  is  given,  by  Dr.  Aber¬ 
crombie,  of  conscience,  as  the  presiding  and  regulating 
power  in  the  moral  constitution  of  man,  there  does  not 
appear  to  be  an  adequate  impression  of  the  degree  in 
which  that  faculty  has  been  affected  by  the  entrance  of 
sin  into  our  world.  It  would  seem  to  he  regarded  as 
having  escaped  the  general  depravation,  and  as  still  sitting 
the  uncorrupted  censor  of  all  the  other  powers  and  pas¬ 
sions  of  the  soul.  But  this  surely  is  a  great  mistake. 

191.  To  the  question  whether  conscience  has,  in  com¬ 
mon  with  other  powers,  suffered  depravation.  Dr.  Ward- 
law,  in  his  Christian  Ethics,  furnishes  a  full  reply,  which 
in  substance  is  as  follows  : — 

Where  is  conscience  toward  God  1”  What  are  the 
results  of  its  authority  1  Let  the  speedy  and  universal 
loss  of  the  original  knowledge  of  the  true  God  answer  the 
question.  Let  the  polytheistic  superstitions  of  heathenism, 
with  all  their  fooleries,  impurities,  and  cruelties ;  let  the 
skeptical  theism,  and  the  presumptuous  atheism  of  philos¬ 
ophy  ;  let  the  manifest  and  conscious  ungodliness  of  the 
whole  race  of  mankind  answer  the  question. 


82 


IMPERFECTION  OF  CONSCIENCE. 


Even  in  its  dictates  toward  fellow-creatures,  too,  how 
sadly  is  it  under  the  domination  of  the  appetites,  and  pas¬ 
sions,  and  selfish  desires  ;  how  constantly  liable  to  be 
swayed  and  bribed  to  wrong  decisions ;  and  how  much 
in  danger  are  even  its  z’ight  judgments  of  being  set  aside 
by  the  power  of  such  interfering  influences.  If  con¬ 
science  has  not  become  depraved,  how  comes  it,  that  this 
faculty  has  not,  everywhere  and  always,  with  authoritative 
voice,  said  to  man,  “  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God, 
with  all  thy  heart  I”  How  comes  it  that  it  has  not  always 
condemned  the  absence  of  this  love  as  the  most  deeply 
criminal  of  all  the  breaches  of  moral  obligation  1 

The  apostle  Paul  says,  “  The  carnal  mind  is  enmity 
against  God.”  If,  in  saying  so,  he  gives  the  character  of 
human  nature,  there  must,  in  this  enmity,  be  a  tendency 
to  influence  the  decision  of  the  judgment  respecting  the 
affections  and  the  conduct  due  to  God  ;  and  this  depraved 
state  of  man  must  vitiate,  more  or  less,  the  judgment  of 
mankind  on  the  fundamental  principles  of  morals. 

192.  Conscience  must  therefore  have  a  rule.  It  must 
be  directed  by  some  higher  rule  than  itself.  This  rule  is 
not  the  example  of  others,  although  wise  and  good,  be¬ 
cause  the  best  of  men  are  imperfect,  and  are  liable  to 
errors  and  infirmities. 

It  may  be  added  that  the  opinion  of  men  is  not  the  rule 
of  conscience,  any  more  than  their  example,  because  they 
may  mislead  us,  either  from  design  or  from  their  own  pre¬ 
vious  error.  Hence  in  the  Scriptures  we  are  commanded 
to  call  no  man  master,  and  to  give  this  honor  to  Christ  alone. 

The  true  rule  of  conscience,  or  of  moral  obligation, 
will  be  exhibited  in  another  chapter. 

Conscience  is  only  a  subordinate  rule,  to  which  we  are 
properly  under  obligation  to  yield  obedience,  only  when 
it  is  conformable  to  the  supreme  rule ;  and  the  obliga¬ 
tion  of  which  we  speak,  results  solely  from  the  suppo¬ 
sition  of  its  conformity.  An  appeal  may  always  be  made 
from  its  decisions  to  the  Scriptures  ;  and  as  soon  as  a 
difference  is  discovered  between  its  dictates  and  those  of 
Scripture,  the  sentence  which  it  has  pronounced  is  made 
void. 

Hence  it  is  plain  that  the  plea  of  conscience  will  not 
avail  to  exempt  us  from  guilt  and  punishment. 


INFLUENCE  OF  REASON  ON  MORAL  DECISIONS.  83 


188.  While  it  thus  appears  that  a  man  ought  to  make  his  conduct  con¬ 
form  to  his  conscience,  and  that  he  is  guilty  if  he  act  against  his  moral 
judgment  of  what  is  right,  is  a  man,  on  the  other  hand,  who  acts  according 
to  his  conscience,  always  right  ? 

189.  What  practical  direction  may  guide  us  in  obeying  the  voice  of 
conscience  ? 

190.  What  error  in  the  treatment  of  this  subject  has  been  committed  by 
writers,  in  the  main  correct? 

191.  What  evidence  is  there  that  conscience  has,  in  common  with  other 
powers,  suffered  depravation  ? 

192.  Since  it  appears  that  conscience  is  an  incompetent  and  unsafe  guide 
to  correct  conduct,  what  becomes  necessary  ? 

SECTION  VI.— INFLUENCE  OF  REASON  ON  OUR  MORAL  DECISIONS. 

193.  (1.)  The  office  of  reason  appears  to  be,  to  judge 
of  the  expediency,  propriety,  and  consequences  of  ac¬ 
tions,  which  do  not  involve  any  feeling  of  moral  duty. 

(2.)  In  regard  to  the  affections  a  process  of  reasoning 
is  often  necessary,  not  only  respecting  the  best  mode  of 
exercising  them,  but  also,  in  many  cases,  in  deciding 
whether  we  shall  exercise  them  at  all. 

(3.)  In  cases  in  which  an  impression  of  moral  duty  is 
concerned,  an  exercise  of  reason  is  still,  in  many  in¬ 
stances,  necessary  for  enabling  us  to  adapt  our  means  to 
the  end  which  we  desire  to  accomplish. 

(4.)  Reason  is  employed  in  some  cases  in  whic^i  one 
duty  appears  to  interfere  with  another ;  likewise  in  judg¬ 
ing  whether,  in  particular  instances,  any  rule  of  duty  is 
concerned,  or  whether  we  are  at  liberty  to  take  up  the 
case  simply  as  one  of  expediency  or  utility. 

(5.)  Reason  is  also  concerned  in  judging  of  a  descrip¬ 
tion  of  cases  in  which  a  difference  of  moral  feeling  arises 
according  to  the  circumstances  in  which  an  individual  is 
placed.  Thus  we  attach  a  difference  of  moral  sentiment 
to  the  act  of  taking  away  the  life  of  another, — when  this 
is  done  by  an  individual  under  the  impulse  of  revenge, 
by  the  same  individual  in  self-defense — or  by  a  judge  in 
the  discharge  of  his  public  duty. 

(6.)  We  often  speak  of  man  as  acting  upon  reason,  as 
opposed  to  passion.  This  only  means,  that  he  acts  upon 
a  calm  consideration  of  the  motives  by  which  he  ought  to 
be  influenced,  instead  of  being  hurried  away  by  a  desire 
or  an  affection  which  has  been  allowed  to  usurp  undue 
influence.  [Abercrombie.] 

193.  What  is  the  influence  and  office  of  reason  in  guiding  us  to  a  just 
decision  with  regard  to  our  moral  conduct  ? 


84  DISTINCTIONS  OF  EIGHT  AND  WRONG  IMMUTABLE. 


BOOK  III. 

THE  PRINCIPLES  AND  RULE  OF  MORAL  ACTION  AND 

OBLIGATION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  DISTINCTIONS  OF  RIGHT  AND  WRONG  IMMUTAL1.E 

AND  ETERNAL. 

The  being  and  perfections  of  God  having  been  proved, 
it  follows  that  He  is  the  proprietor  of  all  things,  and  that 
He  is  the  supreme  moral  governor  of  all :  we  have  also 
shown  that  there  are  in  the  human  constitution,  in  the 
history  of  the  world,  or  in  the  acts  of  divine  providence, 
abundant  intimations  of  a  supreme  moral  government  to 
which  we  are  accountable. 

[See  further,  Dewar,  Moral  Phil.  vol.  ii.  pp.  1-25.] 

In  the  preceding  chapters  it  has  been  shown  that  man 
has  been  made  capable  of  approving  certain  actions  as 
right,  and  of  disapproving  others  as  wrong.  From  the 
constitution  of  our  nature  we  cannot  but  mark  a  differ¬ 
ence  between  virtue  and  vice,  and  approve  of  the  one  as 
morally  good,  and  disapprove  of  the  other  as  morally  evil. 

194,  It  is  alleged  by  many  skeptical  writers,  that  the 
distinctions  of  virtue  and  vice  are  mere  perceptions  or 
emotions  of  the  mind,  and  have  no  existence  separate 
from  it.  There  are  also  some  authors,  professedly 
friendly  to  the  interests  of  religion,  who  deny  the  immu¬ 
tability  of  moral  distinctions,  and  maintain  that  they  have 
their  sole  origin  in  the  enactments  of  will  and  power. 

Of  this  description  is  Dr.  Paley,  w'ho  has  followed  some 
writers  who  preceded  him  in  their  most  dangerous  state¬ 
ments,  and  has  deduced  from  these  statements  their  most 
exceptionable  consequences. 

195.  Dr.  Daley's  system  advocates  the  following  prin¬ 
ciples  :  Whatever  is  expedient  is  right.  It  is  the  utility 
of  any  moral  rule  alone  which  constitutes  the  obligation 
of  it.  Actions  are  to  be  estimated  by  their  tendency. 
To  be  obliged  to  do  an  action,  according  to  his  view,  is 


85 


DR.  PALEy’s  SY’STEM. 

to  be  urged  to  it  by  a  violent  motive,  resulting  from  the 
command  of  another.  This  motive,  he  tells  us,  can  be 
only  self-love, — as  we  are  under  no  obligation  to  do  any¬ 
thing  which  does  not  contribute  to  our  interest ;  so  that 
on  the  supposition  of  there  being  no  future  state,  an  action 
by  which  we  could  get  nothing  would  be  perfectly  indif¬ 
ferent  to  us.  What  makes  the  difference,  according  to 
him,  between  prudence  and  duty  is,  that  in  the  one  case 
we  consider  what  we  shall  get  or  lose  in  this  world,  and 
in  the  other,  what  we  shall  get  or  lose  in  the  next.  A 
man,  therefore,  who  does  not  believe  in  a  future  world, 
or  who  does  not  carry  his  views  to  it,  can  have  no  per¬ 
ception  of  duty. 

196.  His  system  has  contributed  much  to  the  preva¬ 
lence  of  a  loose  and  unscriptural  morality.  It  has  led 
men  to  disregard  the  law  of  God  as  the  only  measure  and 
rule  of  morals,  and  to  substitute,  in  room  of  it,  their  own 
view’s  of  expediency. 

197.  This  question,  therefore,  whether  the  distinctions 
of  right  and  wrong  are  necessary  and  inevitable,  is  to  be 
regarded  as  fundamentally  important  in  relation  to  the 
interests  of  morality  and  religion  ;  and  is  to  be  answered 
in  the  affirmative — that  is,  it  is  to  be  maintained  that 
moral  distinctions  have  a  real  existence,  independent  of 
our  perceptions. 

198.  The  argument  in  favor  of  this  position  may  be 
briefly  stated  thus  :  The  Deity  is  as  necessarily  holy  and 
good,  as  he  necessarily  exists ;  he  cannot  do  what  is  at 
variance  with  his  infinite  goodness  and  rectitude. 

By  the  will  of  Deity  must  be  understood,  not  anything 
arbitrary,  but  the  act  of  a  mind  possessing  infinite  intelli¬ 
gence  as  well  as  power,  infinite  rectitude  as  well  as  good¬ 
ness.  His  will  does  not  create  moral  distinctions,  but  is 
the  expression  of  distinctions  which  eternally  and  un¬ 
changeably  exist,  and  which  are  founded  in  his  own  na¬ 
ture.  The  boundless  perfection  of  his  natm-e  is  not  the 
effect  of  his  will,  but  his  will  is  the  effect,  and,  when  re¬ 
vealed,  the  announcement  of  his  supreme  and  necessary 
moral  excellence. 

This  is  the  view  which  is  everywhere  given  of  God  in 
Scripture. 

To  suppose  then  that  the  will  of  God  is  the  sole  origin 
of  the  distinctions  of  right  and  wrong,  shows  that  the 


86 


BASIS  OF  MORAL  DISTINCTIONS. 


framers  of  such  a  supposition  have  erroneous  views  of  the 
necessary  and  eternal  excellence  of  the  divine  nature.  Ii 
such  distinctions  were  erected,  and  depended,  on  mere 
power  and  enactment,  would  it  not  follow,  that  had  God 
so  willed  it,  what  we  regard  as  the  differences  between 
moral  actions  would  have  been  entirely  reversed,  and  good 
would  be  put  for  evil,  and  evil  for  good  1  According  to 
this  scheme,  there  is  no  justice,  no  truth,  no  benevolence 
essentially  in  God  or  in  the  universe ;  and  the  attempt  of 
ascertaining  what  are  the  moral  attributes  of  the  Deity  is 
rendered  unnecessary,  since  whatever  he  is,  is  determin¬ 
ed  by  an  act  of  his  will. 

How  contrary  this  is  to  Scripture  and  to  enlightened 
reason,  it  is  needless  to  say.  It  is  because  the  moral  ex¬ 
cellences  of  his  nature  are  infinite  and  unchangeable,  that 
it  is  the  duty  of  every  intelligent  creature,  antecedent  to 
all  law  and  all  enactment,  to  love  him  supremely  ;  and  it 
is  on  the  same  ground  that  His  will  must  ever  be  the  ex¬ 
pression  of  what  is  holy,  and  just,  and  good.  He  is,  in¬ 
deed,  so  absolute  that  he  can  do  whatever  he  pleases; 
but  so  just  that  he  cannot  be  pleased  to  do  any  unright¬ 
eous  thing. 

We  are  formed  capable  of  perceiving,  and  of  feeling 
moral  truth ;  but  it  is  truth  which  has  an  existence  inde¬ 
pendently  of  our  perceptions  and  feelings.  Every  theory 
therefore  which  represents  moral  distinctions  as  having 
no  existence  apart  from  the  mind  that  perceives  them  : 
that  is,  which  teaches  us  to  regard  morality  as  altogether 
a  matter  of  sensation  or  feeling,  appears  to  have  a  skep¬ 
tical  and  dangerous  tendency.  That  a  being  endowed 
with  certain  powers  is  bound  to  love  and  obey  the  Crea¬ 
tor  and  Preserver  of  all,  is  truth,  whether  I  perceive  it  or 
not ;  and  we  cannot  conceive  it  possible  that  it  can  ever 
be  reversed.  [Dewar,  vol.  ii.  pp.  26-33.] 

194.  Are  these  distinctions  of  right  and  wrong,  of  virtue  and  vice,  which 
are  thus  observed  and  felt  by  the  human  mind,  founded  in  the  nature  of 
things  and  consequently  immutable  and  eternal — in  other  words,  are  they 
included  in  necessary  truth,  which  is  as  independent  of  my  constitution, 
as  the  equality  of  the  three  angles  of  a  triangle  to  two  right  angles  ? 

195.  What  principles  are  at  the  foundation  of  Dr.  Paley’s  system  of 
morals  ? 

196.  What,  consequently,  has  been  the  influence  of  Dr.  Paley’s  system 
of  moral  philosophy  ? 

197.  The  question  returns ;  Are  the  distinctions  of  right  and  wrong 
necessary,  immutable,  and  founded  in  the  nature  of  things  ? 

198.  What  briefly  is  the  argument  in  favor  of  this  position  ? 


RULE  OF  MORAL  OBLIGATION. 


87 


CHAPTER  II. 

RULE  OR  LAW  OF  MORAL  OBLIGATION. 

199.  The  rule,  or  law,  of  moral  obligation,  is  the  rule 
or  standard  by  which  human  conduct  ought  to  be  regu¬ 
lated,  and  conformity  to  which  is  virtue  or  rectitude. 

200.  This  Rule  may  be  ascertained  by  answering  the 
fundamental  question,  whether  man  be  a  subject  of  the 
government  of  the  Deity  1  If  the  moral  government  of 
God  be  granted,  and  the  consequent  subjection  of  man  to 
that  government,  it  evidently  follows,  without  an  inter¬ 
mediate  link  of  reasoning,  that  the  rule  by  which  his  con¬ 
duct  is  to  be  regulated  must  he  the  will  of  the  Su¬ 
preme  Governor. 

Tbe  two  propositions,  indeed,  that  man  is  a  subject  of 
the  Divine  Governor,  and  that  the  will  of  the  Divine  Gov¬ 
ernor  is  his  lato,  must  be  regarded  as  of  the  same  import. 
If  there  be  a  God,  he  must  rule  ;  and  if  he  rules.  His  will 
must  be  law. 

201.  So  far  as  the  law,  or  rule,  of  duty  is  concerned, 
the  only  legitimate  inquiry  is,  what  is  the  true  way,  or 
ways,  of  ascertaining,  with  certainty  and  correctness,  the 
will  of  the  Supreme  Legislator. 

202.  The  moral  rectitude  or  virtue  of  a  subject  of  God’s 
moral  government  consists  in  conformity  of  principle  and 
conduct,  of  heart  and  life,  to  the  will  of  the  Governor;  a 
governor  who  is  necessarily  supreme,  and  whose  will,  to 
all  his  intelligent  creatures,  is  infallible  and  unimpeach¬ 
able  law. 

In  accordance  with  tbis  statement  the  sacred  scripture 
asserts  that  “  sin  is  the  trangression  of  law,”  the  law 
of  God ;  of  course  virtue  must  consist  in  conforming  to 
that  law.  It  also  asserts  that  “  to  fear  God  and  keep  his 
commandments  is  the  whole  duty  of  man.”  “  Thus  saith 
the  Lord,”  is  regarded  .as  a  sufficient  and  final  law. 

It  also  asserts  that  the  will,  or  command  of  God  is  the 
rule  of  obedience  to  all  intelligent  creatures.  It  is  the  rule 
to  angels;  “Bless  the  Lord,  ye  his  angels,  that  excel  in 
strength,  that  do  his  commandments,  hearkening  unto  the 


89 


LIGHT  OF  NATURE, 


voice  of  Ills  word.”  It  was  the  rule  to  our  Savior  when 
he  sojourned  among  men.  “  My  meat,”  he  said,  “  is  to 
do  the  ■will  of  him  that  sent  me,  and  to  finish  his  work.” 
To  the  rule  Avhich  directs  angels,  and  which  directed  our 
Redeemer,  it  is  right  that  we  should  conform, 

203.  This  will  of  God  is  wise  and  just,  and  there  would 
he  impiety  in  supposing  that  there  could  be  any  obliquity 
or  irregularity  in  the  conduct  which  it  prescribes. 

As  it  is  wise  and  righteous,  so  it  is  good  and  beneficent, 
always  aiming  at  our  welfare,  as  well  as  the  glory  of  our 
INIaker;  for  the  tendency  of  all  the  commands  wdiich  it 
issues  is  to  promote  the  order  and  happiness  of  the  uni¬ 
verse. 

It  is  the  ■will  of  the  Creator,  to  which  creatures  should 
bow  with  profound  reverence.  It  is  the  will  of  a  Master, 
whom  his  servants  ought  to  obey.  It  is  the  will  of  a 
Father,  which  his  children  should  regard  not  only  wuth 
respect,  but  with  gratitude. 

204.  Some  notions  of  morality  are  found  among  those 
who  do  not  enjoy  the  advantages  of  revelation  ;  and  these 
are  accompanied  with  a  sense  of  obligation  :  that  is,  there 
is  a  conviction  in  the  minds  of  men  that  they  ought  to  do 
some  thinsrs,  and  ought  not  to  do  other  things.  There 
remain  treatises  on  morals  drawn  up  by  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  in  perusing  which,  Avhile  we  observe  many  de¬ 
fects,  we  cannot  but  admire  the  progress  which  they  had 
made  in  the  investigation  of  the  various  classes  of  relative 
duties. 

It  is  evident  too,  that  conscience  performed  its  office 
among  them,  not  only  from  particular  instances  of  its 
power  in  disquieting  and  alarming  certain  distinguished 
transgressors,  but  from  express  references  to  it,  and  their 
recorded  declarations,  that  some  actions  were  pleasing, 
and  others  were  offensive  to  the  gods. 

205.  The  speculative  morality  of  the  heathen  may  be 
conceived  to  have  been  handed  doA^m  to  them  by  tradi¬ 
tion,  to  be  in  part  the  voice  of  that  law  which  we  must 
believe  was  given  to  our  first  parents,  and  revived  by 
subsequent  revelations,  still  speaking  to  men  by  the  lips 
of  their  progenitors  and  teachers,  who  have  inculcated 
from  age  to  age  the  precepts  which  had  been  delivered 
to  themselves  by  a  preceding  race. 

It  m^'  be  supposed,  again,  to  be,  in  part,  the  result  of 


FITNESS  OF  THINGS. 


69 


reasoning;  a  discovery  made  by  tlie  mental  faculties  em¬ 
ployed  in  contemplating  the  principles,  feelings,  and 
instincts  of  human  nature,  and  the  circumstances  in  which 
it  is  placed,  and  in  deducing  inferences  from  them.  This, 
however,  is  the  work  only  of  a  few  superior  minds,  and 
will  not  account  for  the  existence  of  moral  sentiments 
among  all  classes  of  men. 

Another  source  of  their  knowledge  of  moral  rules,  is 
the  capacity  of  the  human  mind  for  perceiving  the  pro¬ 
priety  and  impropriety  of  certain  actions,  and  for  making 
them  the  objects  of  approbation  and  disapprobation. 

[Wardlaw.] 


199.  What  is  understood  by  the  rule  or  law  of  moral  obligation  ? 

200.  How  is  this  rule  to  be  ascertained  ? 

201.  What  then,  in  all  theories  of  morals,  so  far  as  the  rule  of  duty  is 
concerned,  is  the  only  legitimate  inquiry  ? 

202.  In  what  then  does  the  virtue  or  moral  rectitude  of  a  subject  of  God’s 
moral  government  consist  ? 

203.  What  are  the  characteristics  of  this  supreme  rule  of  obligation  ? 

204.  Is  the  will  of  God  made  known  by  the  light  of  nature  ? 

205.  How  may  the  speculative  morality  oflieathen  be  more  particularly 
accounted  for  ? 


CHAPTER  III. 

Origin,  or  ultimate  ground,  of  moral  rectitude, 

AND  OBLIGATION. 

206.  To  the  question,  A\Tiy  should  I  pursue  one  course 
of  action  rather  than  another  1  the  following  answers  are 
returned  : — One  says.  Because  it  is  right ;  another,  Be¬ 
cause  it  is  conformable  to  reason  and  nature ;  a  third. 
Because  it  is  conformable  to  truth ;  a  fourth.  Because  it  is 
ao’reeable  to  the  fitness  of  thinsrs  :  and  a  fifth.  Because  it 
contributes  to  the  general  good. 

I.  Fitness  of  Things  as  a  Ground  of  Obligation. 

207.  From  its  abstruseness,  the  fitness  of  things  could 
never  be  intended  as  the  ground  of  obligation  to  man¬ 
kind  at  large,  for  they  are  incapable  of  understanding  it. 

Moreover,  it  properly  constitutes  no  moral  obligation 
at  all.  There  is  no  moral  obligation  but  from  a  law,  and 


90 


EXPEDIENCY. 


no  law  except  from  the  will  of  a  superior.  If  a  man  act 
contrary  to  the  fitness  of  things,  you  may  pronounce  him 
unreasonable,  but  you  cannot  call  him  criminal.  He  may 
subject  himself  to  inconvenience  or  suffering  ;  but  he  is 
only  unwise.  The  truth  is,  that  the  fitness  of  things  as  a 
rule  of  duty  is  an  expression  without  meaning,  and  is 
used  in  an  intelligible  sense  only  when  used  to  denote 
the  institution  of  things  by  the  will  of  the  Creator,  from 
which  the  duties  of  his  creatures  naturally  flow.  But 
when  thus  explained,  the  fitness  of  things  and  the  will  of 
God  signify  the  same  thing ;  the  fitness,  the  relation,  or 
the  order  of  things,  being  the  medium  by  which  he  has 
intimated  his  will.  [Dick’s  Lectures.] 

II.  Obligation  as  resulting  frmn  Utility. 

208.  It  is  the  doctrine  of  Paley  that  “  actions  are  to  be 
estimated  by  their  tendency;”  that  “whatever  is  expe¬ 
dient  is  right that  “  it  is  the  utility  of  any  moral  rule 
alone  which  constitutes  the  obligation  of  it.”  But  in  re¬ 
gard  to  this  doctrine  we  remark  (1.),  that  to  hold  utility  to 
be  the  foundation  of  morals,  is  to  ascribe  to  men  more 
comprehensive  views  than  they  actually  possess  ;  we  are 
not  competent  judges  of  what  is,  upon  the  whole,  good 
for  tlie  world.  It  is  a  principle  too  unwieldy  for  our 
grasp,  and  extremely  apt  to  be  abused  by  the  substitution 
of  particular  for  general  good. 

(2.)  If  expediency  be  the  only  rule  of  action,  and  if 
every  man  is  to  judge  for  himself  (as  Paley  admits)  con¬ 
cerning  the  utility  of  his  own  conduct,  may  not  the  per¬ 
jurer,  and  the  assassin,  and  others,  be  persuaded,  each  in 
his  own  mind,  that  his  actions  are,  in  their  consequences, 
beneficial,  and  entitled  to  reward! 

Expediency  has  been  alleged  in  justification  of  the 
greatest  inhumanity  and  injustice.  It  has  been  acted  on 
by  persecutors  and  tyrants  in  every  age.  It  has  been  the 
rule  of  conduct  to  all  who  have  found  a  courtly  morality 
convenient.  The  Inquisition  referred  to  it  for  its  vindi¬ 
cation  in  the  cruelties  which  it  inflicted,  and  in  the  fires 
which  it  kindled.  That  society  which  is  most  dangerous 
to  the  virtue  and  happiness  of  mankind — the  Jesuits — 
have  made  this  the  foundation  of  their  pernicious  maxims, 
their  intriguing  counsels,  and  unchristian  compliances. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  was  shown  the  necessity  of 


THEORY  OF  UTILITY. 


91 


adopting  the  laws  which  God  has  revealed  in  the  Scrip¬ 
tures  as  the  rule  of  duty.  But  if  it  was  necessary  that 
God  should  prescribe  a  law  to  his  creatures,  by  which 
they  should  regulate  their  moral  feelings  and  actions,  it 
follows,  that  this  law  alone  must  be  the  test  and  criterion 
of  duty,  to  the  exclusion  of  every  principle  which  man 
may  be  disposed  to  substitute  in  its  room. 

[Dick’s  Lectures ;  Dewar,  vol.  ii.  pp.  51-55.] 

It  may  be  added  (3.)  that  there  are  certain  dispositions 
of  mind  and  certain  actions,  which  are  in  themselves  ap¬ 
proved  or  disapproved  by  mankind,  abstracted  from  the 
consideration  of  their  tendency  to  the  happiness  or  misery 
of  the  world ;  approved  or  disapproved  by  that  principle 
which  is  the  guide  of  life,  the  judge  of  right  and  wrong. 

Who  has  ever  withheld  his  admiration  from  Leonidas 
and  his  chosen  band,  till  he  has  thought  of  the  good  which 
their  example  in  all  coming  ages  was  to  confer  on  the 
world  1  Who  has  hesitated  to  approve  of  the  child  that 
has  diminished  her  own  comforts  and  impaired  her  health 
in  ministering  to  a  sick  parent — who,  in  contemplating 
such  virtue,  has  been  able  to  deny  his  approbation  till  he 
had  calculated  the  advantages  that  were  to  arise  from  it'? 

(4.)  Before  the  truth  of  the  theory  of  utility  can  be 
proved,  the  moral  constitution  of  man  must  be  altered. 
That  theory,  however  modified,  and  however  disguised, 
goes  to  establish  the  doctrine  that  the  whole  of  morality 
is  a  system  of  unmingled  selfishness — an  affair  of  either 
profit  or  loss  to  ourselves  or  to  others.  Hence  Dr.  Paley 
maintains  that  the  sole  obligation  to  virtue  consists  in  an 
exclusive  regard  to  our  own  individual  eternity  of  happi¬ 
ness  ;  and  that  virtue  itself  consists  in  obedience  to  the 
will  of  the  Supreme  Being ;  which  obedience  is  to  be 
given,  not  on  account  of  the  infinite  moral  excellences 
and  perfections  of  his  nature,  nor  because  of  his  creating 
and  preserving  goodness,  but  merely  on  account  of  his 
power  to  give  or  withhold  the  happiness  which  is  our 
object. 

The  doctrine  of  Paley,  which  thus  represents  the  sole 
motive  to  virtue  to  be  the  happiness  of  the  agent  himself, 
is  false;  for  we  find,  by  appealing  to  our  consciences,  a 
part  of  the  moral  constitution  which  God  has  given  us, 
and  which  constitutes  a  strong  expression  of  His  will,  that 
moral  agents  rise  in  our  estimation  just  in  proportion  as 


92 


THEORY  OF  UTILITY. 


they  keep  themselves  out  of  sight  in  the  good  actions  they 
perform. 

Again  (5.),  it  is  an  error  to  confound,  as  this  theory  of 
utility  does,  the  eflects  of  a  law  with  the  reasons  of  it ; 
for  it  by  no  means  follows,  because  moral  laws  are  pro¬ 
ductive  of  happiness,  that  they  have  no  other  cause,  and 
were  intended  to  accomplish  no  other  design.  They  may 
result  from  the  nature  of  things,  or  the  relations  which 
subsist  in  the  universe  ;  and  the  good  resulting  from  them 
may  not  be  their  ultimate  end,  but  a  consequence  of  the 
benevolence  which  gave  existence  to  the  system  of  Crea¬ 
tion. 

(6.)  That  in  creating  the  world,  and  in  conducting  his 
government  in  regard  to  it,  the  object  of  the  Deity  is  the 
good  or  happiness  of  the  universe,  is  a  position  in  which 
all,  according  to  this  general  statement  of  it,  will  readily 
acquiesce.  It  is  highly  probable,  however,  from  the  de¬ 
ductions  of  reason,  and  it  is  fully  established  by  Scripture, 
that  in  connection  with  this  object  he  had  in  view  his  own 
glory,  or  the  illustrious  manifestation  of  the  fullness  of  the 
divine  nature. 

We  cannot,  indeed,  conceive  that  a  being  of  infinite 
purity  and  rectitude,  who  is  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  his 
accountable  creatures,  as  well  as  their  Creator,  would 
make  their  happiness,  in  whatever  way  they  might  choose 
to  enjoy  it,  the  object  of  his  care  without  regard  to  the 
justice  by  which  his  government  is  conducted.  As  the 
Judge  of  all,  he  must  do  right,  though  his  doing  so  in¬ 
volves  in  it  the  punishment,  and  consequently  the  misery 
of  transgressors.  We  approve  of  his  procedure  in  such 
a  case  as  in  itself  right,  without  at  all  thinking  of  the  use¬ 
ful  consequences  that  may  result  from  it. 

While  the  Deity  seeks  the  happiness  of  the  universe,  it 
is  in  subordination  to  the  manifestation  of  the  moral  glo¬ 
ries  of  his  nature  and  in  connection  with  the  improvement 
of  his  creatures  in  virtue.  The  exercise  of  his  justice, 
not  less  than  of  his  goodness,  is  implied  in  His  government 
of  intelligent  and  accountable  creatures. 

Dr.  Dewar  has  also  shown  that  the  principle  of  expe¬ 
diency  is  false  from  its  opposition  to  divine  revelation, 
and  also  that  it  is  not  countenanced  by  the  Scripture  doc¬ 
trine  of  rewards. — Vol.  ii.  pp.  51-60. 


THE  WILL  OF  GOD. 


93 


III.  TJie  Will  of  God  as  the  Ground  of  Obligation^ 

209.  Some  have  maintained  that  the  whole  moral  law 
originated  in  the  will  of  God  ;  that  the  duties  enjoined  in 
it  ai'e  right,  solely  because  he  has  commanded  them;  and 
that,  if  he  had  so  pleased,  our  duty  might  have  been  maue 
to  consist  in  actions  different  or  contrary. 

The  error  of  this  doctrine  will  be  discovered  on  simply 
asking  the  question,  whether  God  could  have  exempted 
us  from  the  duty  of  loving  himself,  or  have  made  it  our 
duty  to  hate  him;  and  whether  the  same  change  might 
have  taken  place  with  respect  to  the  love  of  our  neigh¬ 
bor  ? 

Others  have  run  into  the  opposite  error,  and  maintained 
that  the  whole  moral  law  is  founded  in  the  nature  of 
things ;  and,  consequently,  that  no  part  of  it  could  be  al¬ 
tered.  It  is  exactly  what  it  must  always  be,  while  God 
and  man  continue  the  same. 

The  true  doctrine  lies  between  those  stated,  and  is  this: 
that  although  the  moral  law  in  general  is  founded  on  the 
nature  of  things,  or  on  the  relations  of  man  to  his  Maker, 
and  to  his  fellow-creatures,  yet  some  particulars  are  the 
subject  of  positive  institution.  For  example,  the  fourth 
commandment  is  acknovvledged  to  be  partly  moral  and 
partly  positive  :  moral,  as  it  requires  the  consecration  of 
a  part  of  our  time  to  the  immediate  service  of  God  ;  pos¬ 
itive,  as  it  appropriates  a  seventh  part  of  it  rather  than 
some  other  proportion.  As  another  example,  the  law 
respecting  marriage  may  be  referred  to,  by  which  the 
relation  is  forbidden  to  persons  standing  in  certain  de¬ 
grees  of  consanguinity  and  affinity.  The  prohibition  is 
implied  in  the  seventh  commandment.  Whatever  reason 
may  be  assigned  for  the  prohibition,  we  cannot  consider 
it  as  of  the  same  immutable  obligation  with  the  precept 
not  to  steal,  or  not  to  lie.  It  may  be  dispensed  with,  not 
by  human  authority, but  by  the  Supreme  Lawgiver;  and 
accordingly,  marriages  within  the  forbidden  degrees  have 
been  contracted  with  his  express  approbation.  In  the 
beginning  of  the  world,  the  sons  of  Adam  married  their 
sisters,  and,  by  the  Mosaic  law,  if  a  man  died  without 
issue,  his  brother  w^as  required  to  marry  his  widow. 
Such  marriages  are  now  held  to  be  incestuous. 

We  may  therefore  say,  that  there  is  a  mixture  of  moral 


94  ULTIMATE  GROUND  OF  RECTITUDE. 

and  positive  in  the  Decalogue ;  and  there  is  truth  in  the 
old  observation,  that  some  things  are  commanded  because 
they  are  just,  and  some  are  just  because  they  are  com¬ 
manded,  Those  which  are  just  because  they  are  com¬ 
manded  may  be  altered  by  the  same  will  which  enacted 
them ;  but  those  which  are  commanded  because  they  are 
just,  are  of  perpetual  obligation. 

210.  While  to  Grod’s  creatures  his  will  is  the  immediate 
rule  of  duty  and  ground  of  obligation,  yet  in  its  legisla¬ 
tive  prescriptions  that  will  is  not  capricious  and  arbitrary. 
There  must  be  certain  principles  by  which  it  is  itself  de¬ 
termined,  conformity  to  which  is  what,  in  his  estimation, 
constitutes  right,  and  disconformity  wrong  ;  and  by  which, 
consequently,  the  rules  of  duty  prescribed  by  him  to  his 
intelligent  offspring  are  dictated.  Such  rules,  therefore, 
should  be  regarded  as  right,  not  simply  because  God  wills 
them,  but  the  correct  sentiment  is,  that  God  wills  them 
because  they  are  I'ight.  The  principles  by  which  the 
divine  will  is  actuated  in  issuing  moral  rules  are  seated 
in  the  divine  nature,  are  eternal,  unchangeable,  and  exist 
of  necessity.  By  these  principles  also  was  he  guided  in 
the  formation  of  the  universe,  in  fixing  the  constitutions, 
allotting  the  circumstances,  and  adjusting  the  mutual  re¬ 
lations  of  all  his  creatures.  Hence  these  principles  are 
the  ultimate  ground  or  reason  of  moral  obligation. 

211.  IV.  In  support  of  the  doctrine  that  the  divine 
nature,  and  not  the  divine  will,  is  the  ultimate  origin 
and  ground  of  rectitude.  Dr.  Chalmers  eloquently  says  : 

“We  must  express  our  dissent  from  the  system  of  those 
who  would  resolve  virtue,  not  into  any  native  or  inde¬ 
pendent  rightness  of  its  own,  but  into  the  will  of  Him 
who  has  a  right  to  all  our  services.  Without  disparage¬ 
ment  to  the  Supreme  Being,  it  is  not  His  law  which  con¬ 
stitutes  virtue  ;  but,  far  higher  homage  to  Him  and  to  His 
law,  the  law  derives  all  its  authority  and  its  being  from  a 
virtue  of  anterior  residence  in  the  character  of  the  Di¬ 
vinity. 

“  It  is  not  by  the  authority  of  any  law  over  Him,  that 
truth,  and  justice,  and  goodness,  and  all  the  other  perfec¬ 
tions  of  supreme  moral  excellence  have,  in  His  person, 
had  their  everlasting  residence.  He  had  a  nature,  before 
he  uttei-ed  it  forth  into  a  law.  Previous  to  Creation, 
there  existed  in  His  mind,  all  those  conceptions  of  the 


CHARACTER  OF  THE  DEITY. 


95 


great  and  the  graceful,  which  he  hath  embodied  into  a 
gorgeous  universe.  In  like  manner,  previous  to  all  gov¬ 
ernment,  there  existed  in  His  mind  those  principles  of 
righteousness,  which  afterward,  with  the  right  of  an  abso¬ 
lute  sovereign,  he  proclaimed  into  a  law.  Those  virtues 
of  which  we  now  read  on  a  tablet  of  jurisprudence  were 
all  transcribed  and  taken  off  from  the  previously  existing 
tablet  of  the  divine  character.  In  the  fashioning  of  law, 
he  pictui’ed  forth  Himself ;  and  we,  in  the  act  of  observing 
his  law,  are  only  conforming  ourselves  to  his  likeness.  It 
is  there  that  we  are  to  look  for  the  primeval  seat  of  moral 
goodness — or,  in  other  words,  virtue  has  an  inherent  char¬ 
acter  of  her  own — apart  from  law,  and  anterior  to  all  ju¬ 
risdiction. 

“  Instead  therefore  of  deriving  morality  from  law,  we 
should  derive  law,  even  the  law  of  God,  from  the  prime¬ 
val  morality  of  his  own  character ;  and  so  far  from  look¬ 
ing  upwardly  to  his  law  as  the  original  fountain  of  moral¬ 
ity,  do  we  hold  it  to  be  the  emanation  from  a  higher  foun¬ 
tain,  that  is  seated  in  the  depths  of  his  unchangeable 
essence,  and  is  eternal  as  the  nature  of  the  Godhead. 
There  was  an  inherent,  before  there  was  a  preceptive 
morality ;  and  righteousness,  and  goodness,  and  truth, 
which  all  are  imperative  enactments  of  law,  were  all  prior 
characteristics  in  the  underived  and  uncreated  excellence 
of  the  lawgiver.” 

212.  V.  Moral  obligation  in  the  Deity  results  from  the 
strength  of  his  approbation  for  what  is  good,  and  the 
strength  of  his  consequent  recoil  from  that  which  is  wrong. 
It  is  not  however,  as  with  us,  an  obligation  that  bears 
upon  him  from  without.  There  is  no  jurisdiction  foreign 
to  himself,  which  can  take  cognizance  of  Him.  Obligation 
as  acting  upon  Him  is  approbation,  of  a  strength  and  power 
that  carry  it  up  to  the  degree  of  a  moral  necessity. 

But  obligation  acting  upon  us,  while  the  term  may  be 
applied,  and  often  is,  to  the  force  of  those  sanctions  which 
virtue  has  even  in  the  workings  of  our  own  conscience, 
has  more  strictly  a  reference  to  the  sanctions  of  that  di¬ 
vine  government  which  is  set  up  in  authority  over  us. 

213.  VI.  An  act  is  said  to  be  right,  because  of  its 
moral  propriety  :  it  is  said  to  be  obligatory,  because  of 
the  sanctions,  whether  of  reward  or  penalty,  that  bind  to 
the  doing  of  it.  The  distinction  is  clearly  exemplified  in 


96 


INHERENT  RIGHTNESS  OP  VIRTUE. 


civil  law,  under  which  there  are  many  actions  that  are 
obligatory  in  the  strictest  sense  of  the  term,  but  many 
more  which  morally  are  right,  but  legally  are  not  at  all 
binding.  Under  the  divine  government  the  term  obliga¬ 
tion  is  used  in  the  same  forensic  sense,  but  with  this  im¬ 
portant  difference,  that  it  is  not  restricted  to  the  enforce¬ 
ment  of  justice  alone.  God  has  fi’amed  a  code  not  of 
equity  alone,  but  of  universal  morality.  Under  Him  those 
moralities  which  are  left  free,  and  ought  to  be  in  the  ad¬ 
ministrations  of  an  earthly  jurisprudence,  have  become  so 
many  imperative  enactments,  which  at  our  peril  we  diso¬ 
bey,  insomuch  that  the  affections  as  well  as  the  acts  of 
humanity  are  legalized. 

214.  When  God  bids  us  do  what  before  was  a  matter 
of  indifference,  it  thence  becomes  a  matter  of  obligation  ; 
and  that,  not  more  from  his  right  of  command  than  from 
the  rightness  of  our  obedience.  When  he  bids  us  do 
what  before  was  felt  on  our  part  to  be  an  act  of  virtue, 
he  only  attaches  one  obligation  more  to  the  performance 
of  it.  It  did  not  for  the  first  time  become  virtuous,  at  the 
moment  he  embarked  his  authority  in  its  favor.  But  he 
may  be  said  to  have  rendered  it  more  an  act  of  virtue 
than  it  was  before.  He  superadded  upon  it  one  right¬ 
ness  to  another,  which  is  by  no  means  a  singularity  in  the 
affairs  of  human  conduct.  When  God  interposes  with 
the  expression  of  his  will  on  the  side  of  a  morality,  there 
is  then  added  to  the  call  of  morality  the  call  of  godliness. 

This  should  suffice  for  the  question  whether  virtue  have 
a  rightness  in  itself,  or  if  all  its  rightness  be  only  derived 
from  the  will  of  God.  It  will  be  perceived  that  virtue  hath 
a  higher  original  than  the  will  of  God,  even  the  character 
of  God — or  those  princij^les  in  the  constitution  of  the  Deity 
which  give  direction  to  his  will.  Long  ere  virtue  passed 
into  a  law  for  the  government  of  those  who  are  created, 
had  it  a  residence  and  a  being  in  the  mind  of  the  Creator ; 
and  the  tablet  of  his  jurisprudence  is  but  a  transcript  from 
the  tablet  of  his  own  independent  nature. 

To  have  a  nature  like  unto  His,  we  must  love  virtue 
for  itself ;  and  do  it  because  it  is  right — not  because  it  is 
the  requisition  of  authority. 

If  any  are  afraid  that  this  doctrine  casts  us  loose  from 
the  authority  of  God,  we  suggest  to  them  that  a  deference 
to  this  authority  is  the  highest  of  all  rightness.  We 


aUALITIES  OF  HUMAN  ACTION. 


97 


affirm  that  when  virtue,  though  in  its  own  original  and  in¬ 
dependent  character,  hath  taken  possession  of  the  heart, 
its  first  and  largest  offering  will  be  to  the  Divinity  who 
inspired  it.  [Dick’s  Lectures ;  Chalmers’  Works,  vol.  v.] 

206.  If  I  ask,  why  I  should  pursue  one  course  of  action  rather  than  an¬ 
other,  what  answers  are  returned? 

207.  Wliat  may  be  said  of  the  fitness  of  things,  as  a  ground  of  moral 
obligation  ? 

208.  What  may  be  said  of  obligation  as  resulting  from  utility,  or  the 
tendency  of  actions  to  promote  the  general  good  ? 

209.  What  may  be  said  of  the  will  of  God  as  the  ground  of  obligation  ? 

210.  Is  the  will  of  God  capricious  and  arbitrary,  or  is  it  determined  by 
certain  fixed  and  just  principles  ? 

211.  In  what  light  has  Dr.  Chalmers  set  forth  the  doctrine  that  the 
divine  nature,  and  not  the  divine  will,  is  the  ultimate  origin  and  ground  of 
rectitude? 

212.  Since  the  origin  and  the  ultimate  standard  of  moral  rectitude  are 
found  in  the  divine  nature,  whence  results  moral  obligation  ? 

213.  How  may  the  rightness  and  the  moral  obligation  of  a  given  act  be 
distinguished  ? 

214.  Is  there  not  an  obligation  to  do  a  right  thing  from  the  fact  of  its 
being  right,  as  well  as  from  its  being  the  subject  of  divine  command  ? 


CHAPTER  IV. 

MORAL  QUALITIES  OF  HUMAN  ACTION. 

215.  Human  actions  may  be  distinguished  into  external 
and  internal.  The  word  action,  in  the  most  general  man¬ 
ner,  may  be  applied  to  any  exercise  of  the  external  or  in¬ 
ternal  faculties  of  man.  We  often  distinguish  actions 
from  words,  as  when  we  say  a  man’s  actions  contradict 
his  words.  Yet,  in  a  more  general  sense,  we  include  a 
man’s  words  in  his  actions. 

216.  We  direct  our  thoughts  to  an  action  which  we  are 
about  to  perform ;  we  intend  to  do  it ;  we  make  it  our 
aim ;  we  place  it  before  us,  and  act  with  purpose  {proposi- 
turn)  ;  we  design  it,  or  mark  it  out  beforehand  {designo'). 

Will,  or  volition,  is  the  last  step  of  intention,  the  first 
step  of  action.  It  is  the  internal  act  which  leads  to  ex¬ 
ternal  acts. 

An  action  that  proceeds  from  my  will,  or  volition,  is 
my  act.  But  if  it  do  not  proceed  from  my  will,  it  is  not 
ray  act,  though  my  limbs  may  be  employed  in  it ;  as  for 

E 


98 


QUALITIES  OF  HUMAN  ACTION. 


instance,  if  my  hand,  moved  by  another  man  whose 
strength  overmasters  mine,  strikes  a  blow.  In  such  a 
case  I  am  not  a  free  agent.  Human  actions  suppose  the 
freedom  of  the  agent. 

217.  Actions  may  lead  to  events,  as  causes  to  effects ; 
they  may  have  consequences,  immediate  or  remote.  Theft 
is  an  action  which  may  have  the  gain  of  a  few  dollars 
for  its  immediate,  and  imprisonment  and  shame  for  its  re¬ 
mote  consequence. 

An  end  is  a  consequence  intended,  aimed  at,  purposed, 
designed.  When  we  act  with  purpose,  we  have  an  end, 
to  which  the  action  is  a  means.  To  possess  the  fruit  being 
my  end,  I  purposely  cultivate  the  plant  as  the  means. 

218.  In  the  process  antecedent  to  an  external  action, 
the  characteristic  of  right  or  wrong  cannot  be  predicated 
at  that  point  where  the  appetites  or  affections  of  our  na¬ 
ture  solicit  from  the  will  a  particular  movement ;  neither 
is  it  at  that  point  where  either  a  rational  self-love  or  a 
sense  of  duty  remonstrates  against  it.  It  is  not  at  that 
point  where  the  consent  of  the  will  is  pleaded  for,  on  the 
one  side  or  other ;  but,  all-important  to  be  borne  in  mind, 
it  is  at  that  point  where  the  consent  is  given. 

219.  That  an  action  may  be  pronounced  moral  or  im¬ 
moral  ;  that  it  may  be  the  rightful  object  either  of  moral 
censure  or  approval,  it  must  have  had  the  consent  of  the 
will  to  go  along  with  it.  It  must  be  the  fruit  of  a  voli¬ 
tion  ;  else  it  is  utterly  beyond  the  scope,  either  of  praise 
for  its  virtuousness,  or  of  blame  for  its  criminality.  If  an 
action  be  involuntary,  it  is  as  unfit  a  subject  for  a  moral 
reckoning  as  the  pulsations  of  the  wrist,  or  the  height  of 
one’s  stature. 

220.  We  regard  compassion  as  a  virtuous  sensibility, 
and  we  regard  malignity,  or  licentiousness,  or  envy,  as  so 
many  depraved  affections  ;  and  yet,  on  our  principle,  they 
are  virtuous  or  vicious,  only  in  so  far  as  they  are  dependent 
on  the  will.  It  is  clearly  at  the  bidding  of  his  will  that  a 
man  acts  with  his  hand,  and  therefore  we  are  at  no  loss 
to  hold  him  responsible  for  his  doings  ;  but  we  must  learn 
how  it  is  at  the  bidding  of  his  will  that  he  feels  with  his 
heart,  ere  we  can  hold  him  responsible  for  his  desires. 

We  hold  him  responsible  for  his  emotions  because  they 
are  subordinated  to  the  will ;  not  immediately,  indeed,  but 
mediately,  since  we  have  the  power  of  directing  our  at- 


QUALITIES  OF  HUMAN  ACTION. 


99 


tention  to,  or  away  from,  those  objects  which  produce 
emotion.  It  is  the  control  which  the  will  has  over  the 
attention,  or  looking  faculty,  of  the  mind,  that  makes  man 
responsible  for  the  objects  which  he  chooses  to  entertain, 
and  so  responsible  for  the  emotions  which  pathologically 
result  from  them. 

We  are  now  considering  not  that  which  is  necessary  to 
the  Virtuousness  of  a  deed,  but  of  the  doer. 

221.  There  are  two  axioms  in  regard  to  the  virtuous¬ 
ness  of  an  agent.  The  first  is,  that  what  he  does  cannot 
be  characterized  as  having  been  done  virtuously,  unless 
it  be  done  voluntarily. 

The  other  indispensable  condition  is,  that,  to  be  done 
virtuously,  it  must  be  done  because  of  its  virtuousness ; 
or  its  virtuousness  must  be  the  prompting  consideration 
which  led  to  the  doing  of  it. 

222.  It  is  not  volition  alone  which  makes  a  thing  virtu¬ 
ous,  but  volition  under  a  sense  of  duty ;  and  that  only  is 
a  moral  performance  to  which  a  man  is  urged  by  the  sense 
or  feeling  of  a  moral  obligation.  It  may  be  done  at  the 
bidding  of  inclination  ;  but  without  this,  it  is  not  done  at 
the  bidding  of  principle  ;  it  is  not  virtuous. 

It  is  not  every  sort  of  volition  that  is  moral, — that  is  a 
matter  of  moral  censure  or  moral  approbation.  I  will  to 
visit  Switzerland,  and  I  may  do  it  under  the  impulse  of 
a  love  for  its  wild  and  alpine  solitudes.  Such  a  volition 
indicates  the  man  of  taste.  Or,  I  may  be  so  fascinated 
and  detained  by  the  luxury  of  such  contemplations,  that  I 
resolve  upon  an  additional  month  of  residence  in  the  midst 
of  them.  This  too  is  a  volition,  and  still  it  is  my  taste  for 
scenery  that  has  excited  it.  In  the  course  of  my  rambles, 
I  may  enter  one  of  its  cottages,  and  there  may  be  arrested 
by  some  piteous  spectacle  of  family  distress  ;  and  when 
once  seized  upon  by  the  emotion  of  compassion,  I  might 
both  prove  that  I  had  an  eye  for  pity,  and  a  hand  open  as 
day  for  melting  charity.  The  part  which  the  eye  performs 
is  not  voluntary,  nor  would  we  therefore  speak  of  it  as 
serving  at  all  to  make  up  a  moral  exhibition.  The  part 
W'hich  the  hand  performs  is  voluntary ;  and  yet  done,  as 
it  might  altogether  be,  under  the  impulse  of  compassion, 
and  of  that  alone,  there  might,  even  in  this  part  of  the 
exhibition,  be  naught  that  is  strictly  and  properly  of  a 
virtuous  character.  It  might  be  wholly  a  thing  of  emo- 


100 


IMPULSE  OF  DUTY. 


tion,  and  not  at  all  a  thing  of  moral  principle,  though  a 
matter  of  responsibility. 

Those  actions  which  flow  from  taste,  prove  a  man  of 
taste  ;  those  which  flow  from  sensibility,  mark  the  per¬ 
former  to  be  a  man  of  sensibility ;  those  to  which  he  is 
driven  under  some  headlong  impulse  of  emotion,  show 
him  to  have  been  under  the  influence  of  a  resistless  pa¬ 
thology.  But  only  those  actions  which  he  does  under  a 
sense  of  their  moral  obligation  or  rectitude,  and  because 
he  apprehends  them  to  be  moral,  bespeak  him  to  be  a 
man  of  virtue. 

Whatever  comctJi  not  of  a  sense  of  duty  hath  no  moral 
character  in  itsef  and  no  moral  approbation  due  to  it. 
The  action,  we  have  already  said,  must  be  voluntary;  but 
it  must  be  more,  else  there  is  no  distinction  in  regard  to 
character  between  one  voluntary  jierformance  and  an¬ 
other. 

223.  It  must  be  done  because  the  performer  knows 
it  to  be  virtuous,  and  because  he  aims  in  the  doing  of 
it,  not  to  do  what  he  inclines,  but  to  do  what  he  ought. 
It  may  so  happen  that  the  impulse  of  duty  and  the  im¬ 
pulse  of  some  constitutional  inclination  act  together  like 
two  conspiring  forces ;  in  which  case  the  duty  will  be  all 
the  easier,  and  all  the  more  delightful.  But  had  it  been 
otherwise ;  had  the  inclination  and  the  principle  acted 
adversely  and  as  conflicting  forces,  the  latter,  if  the  result 
of  the  struggle  is  to  be  a  virtuous  action,  must  prevail. 

[Chalmers’  Works,  vol.  v.  pp.  165-195.] 

224.  We  have  seen  that  by  an  act  of  will  we  may 
transport  ourselves  within  the  sphere  of  the  emotions,  and 
for  the  purpose  of  yielding  ourselves  to  every  impulse 
that  we  approve  of ;  the  influence  of  the  will  being  thus 
anterior  to  the  emotions. 

But  it  has  an  influence  also  among  the  emotions  after 
they  are  thus  originated,  in  regulating,  sustaining,  or 
controlling  them,  which  stamjis  upon  them  a  moral 
character. 

When  proper  emotions  and  affections  are  cultivated 
under  a  sense  of  duty,  they  acquire  from  this  source  a 
moral  character  which  of  themselves  they  could  not 
possess. 

This  subject  is  more  fully  discussed  in  the  chapter 
upon  the  duty  of  cultivating  the  affections. 


OPINION  OF  THE  AGENT. 


101 


225.  The  ojnnion  of  the  agent  in  doing  an  action,  gives 
it  its  moral  denomination.  If  he  does  an  action  materially 
good,  without  any  belief  of  its  being  good,  but  from  some 
other  principle,  it  is  no  good  action  in  him.  And  if  he 
does  it  with  the  belief  of  its  being  ill,  it  is  ill  in  him. 

Thus,  if  a  man  give  to  his  neighbor  a  potion  which  he 
really  believes  will  poison  him,  but  which  in  the  event 
proves  salutary,  and  does  much  good  ;  in  moral  estima¬ 
tion  he  is  a  poisoner,  and  not  a  benefactor.  Hence  the 
moral  character  of  an  act  is  not  to  be  determined  by  the 
consequences  that  may  result  from  it,  but  from  the  conse¬ 
quences  that  were  intended. 

226.  Benevolence  is  not  the  only  virtue.  It  is  true 
that  every  virtue  tends  to  public,  as  well  as  private  good  ; 
and  that  whatever  is  done  with  a  view  to  promote  happi¬ 
ness,  without  doing  injury,  is  well  done,  and  a  proof  of 
goodness  in  the  agent. 

It  is  also  true,  that  every  act  of  virtue,  even  the  most 
secret  that  we  can  perform,  tends  eventually  to  the  good 
of  others  ;  either  by  diffusing  happiness  immediately,  or  by 
improving  our  nature,  and  consequently  making  us  more 
useful  and  more  agreeable  members  of  the  community. 

Yet  every  moralist  allows,  that  there  are  duties  which 
a  man  owes  to  himself :  in  the  deepest  solitude  we  are 
not  exempted  from  religious  and  moral  obligation.  For 
if  a  man  were  in  the  condition  in  which,  according  to  the 
fable,  Robinson  Crusoe  is  said  to  have  been,  and  confined 
for  many  years  in  a  desert  island,  without  having  it  in  his 
power  to  do  either  good  or  harm  to  others  of  his  species, 
he  would,  according  to  the  measure  of  rationality  that  had 
been  given  him,  be  as  really  a  moral  being  and  account¬ 
able  to  God  and  his  conscience  for  his  behavior,  as  if  he 
wei'e  in  London  or  New-York.  In  such  solitude,  it  would 
be  in  his  powex',  in  various  ways,  to  be  virtuous  or  vicious. 
He  might  impiously  repine  at  the  dispensations  of  provi¬ 
dence,  or  he  might  acquiesce  in  them  with  thankfulness 
and  humility.  He  might  lead  a  life  of  industry,  or  aban¬ 
don  himself  to  idleness  and  all  other  sensualities  that  were 
within  his  reach.  He  might  envy  the  prosperity  of  others  ; 
or  he  might  pray  for  their  happiness,  and  wish  for  oppor¬ 
tunities  to  promote  it. 

In  a  word,  benevolence  is  not  the  only  virtue :  but  there 
can  be  no  virtue  in  a  being  who  is  destitute  of  it. 


102 


ACTS  OF  EXPEDIENCY. 


227.  Dr.  Paley  says,  “  Whatever  is  expedient,  is  right 
for,  according  to  his  doctrine,  actions  are  right  or  wrong, 
according  to  their  tendency,  and  not  in  themselves.  But 
according  to  the  common  language  and  apprehensions  of 
men,  an  act  may  be  expedient,  and  yet  be  a  very  wrong 
act ;  since  the  term  expedient  is  always  used,  not  in  the 
general  sense  intended  by  Dr.  Paley,  but  in  a  limited 
sense.  Thus,  it  may  be  expedient  for  a  man  to  lie,  in 
order  to  free  himself  from  captivity.  He  may  stay  in 
captivity,  because  he  will  not  tell  a  lie.  Now  in  this  lat¬ 
ter  case  we  say,  he  does  w’hat  is  right,  and  rejects  what 
is  expedient.  Expedient  implies,  according  to  its  etymol¬ 
ogy,  a  way  out  of  difficulties.  But  morality  places  before 
us  a  higher  object  than  merely  to  escape  from  difficulties. 
She  teaches  us  to  aim  at  what  is  right.  AVhat  is  expedi¬ 
ent,  may  be  expedient  as  a  means  to  what  is  right.  It 
may  be  expedient  to  tell  the  truth,  in  order  to  rescue  an 
innocent  person  from  death.  But  we  do  not  describe 
such  an  action  properly  by  calling  it  expedient.  It  is 
much  more  than  expedient :  it  is  right,  it  is  recommended 
by  duty.  It  is  approved. 

228.  The  abuse  to  which  the  adoption  of  the  principle 
of  expediency  would  be  generally  liable,  is  thus  illus¬ 
trated  by  Mr.  Dymond. — “  Whatever  is  expedient,  is 
right,”  soliloquizes  the  moonlight  adventurer  into  the 
poultry-yard  :  “  it  will  tend  more  to  the  sum  of  human 
happiness  that  my  wife  and  I  should  dine  on  a  capon, 
than  that  the  farmer  should  feel  the  satisfaction  of  pos¬ 
sessing  it — and  so  he  mounts  the  henroost.  I  do  not 
say  that  this  hungry  moralist  would  reason  soundly,  but  I 
say  that  he  would  not  listen  to  the  philosophy  which  re¬ 
plied,  “  Oh,  your  reasoning  is  incomplete  ;  you  must  take 
into  account  all  consequences,  collateral  and  remote ; 
and-  then  you  will  find  that  it  is  more  expedient,  upon 
the  whole,  and  at  the  long  run,  that  you  and  your  wife 
should  be  hungry,  than  that  henroosts  should  be  inse¬ 
cure.” 

229.  To  constitute  an  action  good  in  itself,  it  must  be 
enjoined  by  the  law  of  God,  the  highest  rule  of  duty. 
The  command  of  man  cannot  make  a  work  good,  unless 
it  be  at  the  same  time  virtually  or  explicitly  commanded 
by  God  :  the  suggestions  of  reason  do  not  possess  suffi¬ 
cient  authority,  because  it  is  not  our  supreme  guide,  and 


INTENTION  OF  THE  AGENT. 


103 


is  liable  to  error.  He  who  created  us  has  alone  a  right 
to  prescribe  the  mode  in  which  we  should  exert  our  fac¬ 
ulties,  and  fulfill  the  purposes  of  our  being. 

230.  We  cannot  decide  upon  the  moral  character  of  an 
external  act  without  ascertaining  the  motive  or  intention 
of  the  agent.  It  is  not  the  outward  action  merely  that 
we  approve  or  disapprove.  A  man  may  kill  another  by 
accident,  or  may  kill  another  by  design  ;  and  in  both 
cases  the  outward  action  may  be  the  same ;  the  firing  of 
a  musket  may  do  either.  But,  in  the  former  case,  the 
manslayer  may  be  entirely  innocent ;  in  the  latter,  he 
may  be  guilty  of  murder :  for  in  the  latter,  there  may  be 
a  criminal  purpose  ;  in  the  former,  there  is,  or  may  be, 
none.  Our  affections  therefore,  dispositions,  motives,  pur¬ 
poses,  or  intentions,  are  the  real  objects  of  moral  appro¬ 
bation  or  disapprobation. 

The  outward  actions  we  consider  as  the  signs  and 
'proofs  of  what  was  in  the  mind  of  the  agent;  for  man 
cannot  see  the  heart :  and  we  call  an  action  immoral  or 
virtuous,  according  as  it  seems  to  us  to  manifest  a  crimi¬ 
nal  or  a  virtuous  intention. 

231.  Independent  of  all  action,  it  is,  in  truth,  the  state 
of  the  heart  itself  which  forms  our  character  in  the  sight 
of  God.  With  our  fellow-creatures,  actions  must  ever 
hold  the  first  rank :  because  by  these  only  we  can  judge 
of  one  another ;  by  these  we  affect  each  other’s  welfare, 
and  therefore  to  these  alone  the  regulation  of  human  law 
extends.  But  in  the  eye  of  the  Supreme  Being,  to  whom 
our  whole  internal  frame  is  uncovei'ed,  dispositions  hold 
the  place  of  actions ;  and  it  is  not  so  much  what  we  per¬ 
form,  as  the  motive  which  moves  us  to  performance,  that 
constitutes  us  ffood  or  evil  in  his  sight. 

232.  Even  among  men  the  morality  of  actions  is  esti¬ 
mated  by  the  principle  from  which  they  are  judged  to 
proceed.  One  man,  for  instance,  may  spend  much  of  his 
fortune  in  charitable  actions  ;  and  yet  if  he  is  believed  to 
be  influenced  by  mere  ostentation,  he  is  deemed  not  char¬ 
itable,  but  vain.  Another  man  may  labor  unweariedly  to 
serve  the  public ;  but  if  he  is  prompted  by  the  desire  of 
rising  into  power,  he  is  held  not  to  be  public-spirited,  but 
ambitious ;  and  if  he  bestows  a  benefit,  merely  that  he 
may  receive  a  greater  in  return,  no  man  would  reckon 
him  generous,  but  selfish  and  interested. 


104 


PROVINCE  OF  INTENTION. 


Hence  the  rectification  of  our  principles  of  action,  is 
the  primary  object  of  moral  and  religious  discipline. 

233.  There  may  be  virtue  or  vice  in  our  intentions 
themselves,  though  not  exerted  in  outward  acts.  He  who 
forms  a  purpose  to  commit  murder,  has  already  incurred 
the  guilt  of  murder;  and  he  who  does  all  the  good  he 
can,  and  wishes  he  was  able  to  do  more,  is  virtuous  in 
proportion  to  the  extent  of  his  wishes,  however  small  his 
abilities  may  be. 

234.  It  is  the  false  maxim  of  some  that  “  the  end  justi¬ 
fies  the  means,”  and  there  are  those  who  excuse  them¬ 
selves,  and  even  claim  praise,  when  they  have  erred,  on 
account  of  the  alleged  purity  of  their  motives. 

In  regard  to  this  maxim  and  this  excuse,  it  is  acknowl¬ 
edged  that  an  action  good  in  itself  may  become  had  through 
intention ;  or,  in  other  words,  it  may  be  divested  of  all 
moral  worth  by  being  performed  with  an  unlawful  design, 
and  the  agent  may  be  guilty  of  crime.  The  giving  of 
alms  is  not  a  virtue  when  it  flows  from  ostentation  ;  nor 
zeal  for  truth,  when  it  originates  in  pride  and  passion. 

235.  To  ascribe  to  intention  the  power  of  turning  a  bad 
action  into  a  good  one,  is  to  deny  that  there  is  any  essen¬ 
tial  difference  of  actions,  to  render  morality  entirely  an 
arbitrary  thing,  to  represent  it  as  continually  changing  its 
character,  so  that  what  is  vicious  to-day  may  be  virtuous 
to-mon’ow.  It  sets  aside  the  law  of  God,  and  substitutes 
in  the  room  of  a  permanent  standard  the  ever-varying  de¬ 
cisions  of  the  human  mind,  blinded  by  prejudice,  warped 
by  passion,  and  forming  its  judgments  upon  deceitful  ap¬ 
pearances  and  short-sighted  calculations. 

236.  The  only  province  which  ought  to  be  assigned  to 
intention,  in  morality,  is  to  give  value  to  such  actions  as 
are  conformable  to  the  law  of  God,  to  the  goodness  of 
which  it  is  indispensably  necessary  that  the  state  of  the 
mind  be  right. 

It  is  sufficient  to  explode  the  false  doctrine  of  intention 
to  consider  the  extent  to  which  it  would  carry  us ;  for 
upon  this  principle,  many  of  the  greatest  crimes  might  be 
justified,  because  those  who  committed  them  imagined 
that  they  were  doing  their  duty. 

237.  To  render  an  action  good,  as  before  remarked  in 
substance,  it  must  be  an  action  which  God  has  implicitly 
or  explicitly  commanded ;  it  must  be  done,  not  because 


aUALITIES  OF  A  GOOD  ACTION 


105 


it  will  please  ourselves  or  others,  but  because  it  is  com¬ 
manded  by  God ;  it  must  flow  from  the  love  of  God,  and 
therefore  done  willingly  and  cheerfully ;  it  must  be  done 
for  the  glory  or  honor  of  God,  and  not  for  a  selfish  end. 

[Lectures  of  Dr.  John  Dick,  vol.  ii.  pp.  254-9.] 

238.  From  the  preceding  positions  it  is  an  obvious  in¬ 
ference,  that  actions  truly,  and  in  the  highest  sense  good, 
can  he  perfor^ned  only  hy  those  who  believe,  and  live  under 
the  influence  of,  the  Bible;  and  also  that  the  boasted  vir¬ 
tues  of  the  heathen  will  not  endure  a  thorough  investiga¬ 
tion.  In  the  language  of  Dr.  Dick,  “  It  is  intolerable  to 
hear  Christians  giving  the  name  of  virtue  to  the  mere  ex¬ 
ercise  of  the  natural  aflections  without  any  religious  mo¬ 
tive  ;  to  acts  of  natural  courage  ;  to  patriotism,  as  it  is 
commonly  understood,  and  was  exemplified  among  the 
Greeks  and  Romans ;  to  a  proud  morality,  which  elated 
the  possessors  with  self-conceit,  and  led  them  to  claim  an 
equality,  or  a  superiority  to  the  gods.”  The  heathen, 
being  ignorant  of  the  true  God,  evidently  could  not  per¬ 
form  actions  possessingthe  characteristics  described  above. 

239.  The  words  of  the  apostle  Peter  to  Cornelius  may 
here  be  objected.  “Of  a  truth,  I  perceive  that  God  is 
no  respecter  of  persons ;  but,  in  every  nation,  he  that 
feareth  him  and  worketh  righteousness,  is  accepted  of 
him.”  But  these  words,  as  the  context  shows,  do  not 
teach  that  men  of  every  nation  work  righteousness ;  but 
that,  to  whatever  nation  those  who  work  righteousness 
belong,  they  are  accepted.  This  is  evident ;  for  the  apos¬ 
tle  is  speaking  in  reference  to  the  prejudices  of  the  Jews, 
who  believed  that  they  were  the  objects  of  the  divine 
favor,  to  the  exclusion  of  every  other  people.  This  he 
now  discovered  to  be  an  error ;  for,  in  the  case  of  Cor¬ 
nelius,  God  had  shown,  that  if  there  were  any  righteous 
Gentiles,  they  also  were  acceptable  to  him.  But  Corne¬ 
lius,  let  it  be  remembered,  was  not  such  a  Gentile  as 
Socrates,  or  Cato,  or  Aristides,  but  one  who  knew  the 
true  God  and  worshiped  him. 

215.  How  are  human  actions  distinguished  ? 

216.  What  are  the  steps  leading  to  action? 

217.  What  is  the  tendency  of  actions  ? 

218.  In  what  part  of  the  process  antecedent  to  an  external  action  does 
the  characteristic  of  right  or  wrong  first  become  apiplicable  ? 

219.  What  then  is  essential  to  the  moral  character  of  a  human  action  ? 

220.  Is  any  moral  character  attached  to  our  emotions,  with  which  the 


106 


QUALITIES  OF  A  GOOD  ACTION. 


will  seems  to  have  little  or  nothing  to  do  ?  And  since  we  have  affirmed 
that  nothing  is  either  virtuous  or  vicious,  unless  the  voluntary  in  some 
way  intermingles  with  it,  how  shall  we  vindicate  the  moral  rank  which  is 
commonly  assigned  to  the  mere  susceptibilities  of  our  nature  ? 

221.  What  two  axioms  may  be  stated  in  regard  to  the  virtuousness  of 
the  agent  who  performs  a  given  act  ? 

222.  Is  volition  alone  sufficient  therefore  to  make  a  thing  virtuous  ? 

223.  What  then  is  the  specific  distinction  of  a  voluntary  action  which  is 
virtuous  ? 

224.  What  further  influence,  beside  that  already  described,  has  the  will 
on  the  emotions,  by  which  they  acquire  a  moral  character 

225.  What  effect  upon  the  moral  character  of  an  action  has  the  opinion 
of  the  agent  in  doing  it  ? 

226.  Is  the  allegation  true,  that  there  are  no  good  affections  or  actions  but 
those  which  have  a  benevolent  tendency  ? 

227.  Are  actions  right  simply  because  they  are  expedient  ? 

228.  How  has  Mr.  Dymond  illustrated  the  abuse  to  which  the  adoption 
of  the  principle  of  expediency  would  be  generally  liable  ? 

229.  What  is  necessary  to  constitute  an  action  absolutely  or  materially 
good,  or  good  in  itself? 

230.  Does  the  character  of  an  action  depend  upon  the  intention  of  the 
agent  ? 

231.  How  is  this  matter  regarded  by  the  Supreme  Being? 

232.  How  does  it  appear  that  even  among  men,  the  morality  of  actions  is 
estimated  by  the  principle  from  which  they  are  judged  to  proceed,  and  that 
such  as  the  principle  is,  the  man  is  accounted  to  be  ? 

233.  May  there  be  virtue  or  vice  in  our  intentions  themselves,  though 
not  exerted  in  outward  acts  ? 

234.  Does  the  character  of  an  action  so  depend  upon  the  intention,  that 
a  good  intention  will  justify  the  means  employed  to  execute  it? 

235.  But  although  intention  may  convert  good  into  evil,  does  it  possess 
the  opposite  power  of  turning  evil  into  good,  of  infusing  a  moral  goodness 
into  an  act  otherwise  evil  ? 

236.  What  province  should,  in  morality,  be  assigned  to  intention  ? 

237.  What  rs  necessary  to  render  an  action  good  in  the  sight  of  God  ? 

238.  What  inference  may  be  drawn  from  the  preceding  positions  ? 

239.  Do  not  the  words  of  Peter  to  Cornelius  (Acts  x.  34,  35)  prove  that 
the  works  of  the  heathen,  as  well  as  those  of  Christians,  are  pleasing  to 
God? 


EIGHT  AND  OBLIGATION. 


107 


BOOK  IV. 

THE  HIGHTS  OF  MAN. 


CHAPTER  1. 

RIGHTS  AND  OBLIGATIONS— THEIR  NATURE. 

240.  Whatever  action  we  would  deem  eithei*  virtuous 
or  innocent  were  it  done  by  an  agent  in  certain  circum¬ 
stances,  we  say  he  has  a  right  to  do  it.  Whatever  one 
so  possesses  and  enjoys  in  certain  circumstances  that  we 
would  deem  it  a  wrong  action  in  any  other  to  disturb  or 
inten  upt  his  possession,  we  say  ’tis  his  right,  or  he  has  a 
right  to  enjoy  and  possess  it.  Whatever  demand  one  has 
upon  another  in  such  circumstances  that  we  would  deem 
it  wrong  conduct  in  that  other  not  to  comply  with  it,  we 
say  one  has  a  right  to  what  is  thus  demanded. 

[Hutchinson.] 

According  to  Dr.  Reid,  “  The  term  right  is  a  term  of 
art  in  law,  and  signifies  all  that  a  man  may  lawfully  do, 
all  that  he  may  lawfully  possess  and  use,  and  all  that  he 
may  lawfully  claim  of  any  other  person.” 

241.  Natural  jurisprudence  is  a  code  of  relative  duty, 
deriving  its  authority  from  impressions  which  are  found 
in  the  moral  feelings  of  all  mankind,  without  regard  to 
the  enactments  of  any  particular  civil  society. 

242.  The  whole  object  of  law  is  to  protect  men  in  all 
that  they  may  lawfully  do,  ov  possess,  or  demand;  hence 
civilians  have  defined  the  word  jus  or  right,  to  be  a  law¬ 
ful  claim  to  do  anything,  to  possess  anything,  or  to  de¬ 
mand  something  from  some  other  person. 

243.  The  ambiguity  existing  in  the  use  of  the  word 
right,  may  be  seen  in  the  following  instance,  stated  by 
Dr.  Chalmers : — 

I  may  have  a  right  to  a  given  property,  which,  how¬ 
ever,  being  in  the  use  and  possession  of  a  poor  relative 
who  would  suffer  by  the  deprivation,  it  may  not  be  right 


108 


RIGHT  AND  OBLIGATION. 


for  me  to  exact  it  from  the  industrious  father  of  a  sinking 
and  industrious  family. 

There  is  tlierefore  a  difference  between  a  legal  right 
and  a  moral  rightness.  A  claim  may  rightfully  belong  to 
me,  and  I  can  therefore  prosecute  it  at  law,  and  yet  it 
may  be  exti-emely  right  in  me  to  postpone,  if  not  alto¬ 
gether  to  relinquish  it.  I  may  have'a  right  to  prosecute, 
and  yet  it  may  not  be  right  in  me  to  enter  on  the  prose¬ 
cution.  It  may  thus  be  altogether  wrong  to  insist  upon 
a  right. 

244.  The  existing  jurisprudence  of  society  ought  not  to 
be  complained  of  because  there  are  many  things  morally 
right  which  it  has  not  made  legally  binding,  and  many 
things  most  offensively  wrong  which  it  does  not  punish  : 
because  there  would  be  no  scope  for  the  generosities  of 
our  nature,  if  man  were  not  left  at  liberty,  either  to  insist 
upon  his  claims,  or  to  forbear  them  at  his  pleasure.  It 
would  supersede  the  need  of  compassion,  if,  upon  every 
occasion  when  it  were  right  for  it  to  come  forth  with  its 
willing  dispensations,  law  also  came  forth  with  the  author¬ 
itative  declaration  that  they  w'ere  altogether  due  ;  thereby 
turning  that  which  ought  to  be  a  matter  of  free  indul¬ 
gence,  into  a  matter  of  strict  and  legal  necessity,  and 
thereby  also  destroying  motives  to  industry  and  economy 
in  the  poor,  and  the  feeling  of  gratitude  when  relieved  by 
law. 

245.  But  while  the  right  and  the  rightness  are  separa¬ 
ble  in  regard  to  the  holder  of  the  right,  they  are  not  so  in 
regard  to  the  other  party.  Though  it  be  sometimes  right 
for  the  creditor  to  forbear  the  prosecution  of  a  debt,  yet 
it  is  rifjht  for  the  debtor  to  strain  his  labor  and  his  fruffal 

o  ^  O 

ity  to  the  utmost,  in  order  to  make  out  the  payment.  I 
may  have  a  right  over  another  man  which  it  might  be  very 
wrohg  for  me  to  act  upon.  But  if  another  man  have  a 
right  over  me,  it  is  never  wrong,  it  is  right,  for  me  to  act 
upon  it.  It  is  not  at  all  times  right  in  a  man  to  proceed 
to  the  very  uttermost  of  law  upon  his  own  right ;  but  at 
all  times  right  in  him  to  defer  the  very  uttermost  to  the 
rights  of  others. 

246.  The  counterpart  of  a  right  upon  one  side,  is  an 
ohligation  on  the  other.  If  a  man  have  a  right  to  my  ser¬ 
vices,  I  am  under  an  obligation  to  render  them.  The 
counterpart  again  of  a  rightness,  is  not  obligation,  but 


DUTY  AND  OBLIGATION. 


109 


approbation.  If  a  man  show  a  right  over  me,  it  is  my 
obligation  and  my  part  to  submit  to  it.  If  any  man  show 
a  rightness  before  me,  it  is  my  part  to  ajiprove  of  it,  and 
it  is  my  duty  to  do  it. 

247.  Duty  is  a  wider  term  than  obligation  ;  just  as 
right,  the  adjective,  is  wider  than  right,  the  substantiA^e  ; 
as  when  we  say  that  a  poor  man  has  no  right  to  relief, 
yet  it  is  right  he  should  have  it. 

My  obligation  is  to  give  another  man  his  right ;  my 
duty  is  to  do  what  is  right.  The  word  obligation  is  not, 
however,  used  always  in  so  narrow  a  sense,  but  is  ex¬ 
tended  to  the  same  limits  as  duty. 

It  is  our  duty  to  observe  all  rectitude,  though  there 
existed  no  being  in  the  universe  who  had  a  right  to  enjoin 
the  performance  of  it.  It  may  be  our  duty  to  give  to  a 
needy  person,  though  the  thing  given  is  in  no  way  his 
due.  It  may  be  my  duty  to  forgive  a  guilty  person, 
though  to  say  that  foi’giveness  was  his  due  would  be  a 
contradiction  in  terms. 

The  terms  right  and  rightness,  though  distinct,  appear 
to  be  closely  associated  in  the  minds  of  men.  It  may  be 
that  I  ought  to  give  to  another  a  sum  of  money  which  I 
do  not  oioe  him.  We  do  not  owe  a  man  forgiveness,  when 
at  the  same  time  we  ought  to  forgive  him. 

There  is  a  distinction  then  between  duty  regarded  in 
the  light  of  moral  propnety  or  rectitude,  and  duty  re¬ 
garded  in  the  light  of  moral  obligation. 

If  we  look  to  morality  only  as  it  operates  in  human 
society  and  without  reference  to  the  Supreme  Being, 
then  we  have  many  a  rightness  without  a  corresponding 
right ;  many  duties  which  on  my  part  should  be  per¬ 
formed,  but  not  one  of  which  is  due  to  any  living  creature ; 
many  actions  that  may  be  the  object  of  praise,  and  yet 
are  not  at  all  the  matters  of  obligation.  They  are  virtuous, 
and  yet  I  am  not  bound  to  do  them. 

But  God,  who  has  an  absolute  property  in  us,  and  an 
absolute  power  over  us,  and  whose  will  is  on  the  side  of 
virtue,  has  by  his  rightful  authority  turned  proprieties  and 
moralities  into  precepts :  he  has  commanded  them  to  be 
observed,  and  has  thus  brought  them  within  the  limits  of 
moral  obligation. 

What  our  moral  faculty  recommends  as  so  many  pro¬ 
prieties,  the  law  of  God  enjoins  as  so  many  precepts.  In 


110 


DUTY  AND  OBLIGATION. 


virtue  of  our  particular  relationship  to  God,  all  whose 
commandments  are  infallibly  right,  there  is  naught  in  the 
shape  of  duty,  which  is  not  also  due  to  the  Being  who  made 
us;  there  is  nothing  that  we  ought  to  do,  which  we  do 
not  also  owe  to  the  Master  who  claims  it  in  the  shape  of 
obedience  to  himself ;  there  is  naught  which  is  simply 
becoming  because  of  its  moral  goodness,  which  is  not  also 
legally  binding  because  of  a  law  from  heaven  that  authori¬ 
tatively  requires  it. 

It  is  thus  and  thus  alone,  as  far  as  we  can  perceive,  that 
moral  approbation  and  moral  obligation  have  come  to  be 
coextensive  with  each  other ;  and  that  each  is  alike  appli¬ 
cable  to  virtue  throughout  the  whole  length  and  breadth 
of  its  territory.  It  is  because  of  God’s  interposing  this 
authority  in  behalf  of  what  is  right,  that,  though  before  a 
mere  propriety,  and  therefore  simply  the  object  of  appro¬ 
bation,  it  now  becomes  a  precept,  and  is  therefore  a 
matter  of  actual  obligation.  Yet,  apart  from  the  authority 
of  God,  and  without  any  reference,  at  the  time,  of  our 
thoughts  to  him  at  all,  we  are  accustomed  to  talk,  not 
merely  of  the  rectitude  of  morality,  but  also  of  the  obli¬ 
gations  of  morality,  because  it  belongs  to  the  office  of 
conscience  to  act  the  pai't  of  a  judge,  and  condemn  us 
when  we  refuse  to  do  what  is  conceived  to  be  right,  and 
to  reward  us  for  a  contrary  course. 

We  are  so  constituted  as  to  feel  that  we  ought  to  do  a 
thing  which  we  conceive  to  be  right,  simply  because  we 
conceive  it  to  be  right.  There  is  an  inherent  sense  of 
obligation  to  do  what  is  right.  If  it  be  asked,  why  must 
I  do  what  is  right  ?  the  answer  is,  because  it  is  right. 
Why  should  I  do  what  I  ought  ?  Because  I  ought.  This 
is  the  ultimate  answer,  and  to  the  unsophisticated  and 
honest  mind  is  a  sufficient  answer. 

248.  The  opposite  of  rights,  are  wrongs.  A  man’s 
rights  may  be  infringed,  transgressed  by  the  actions  of 
other  men.  Thus  a  man  infringes  my  right  to  personal 
safety,  by  striking  me  ;  my  right  to  my  property,  by  steal¬ 
ing  it.  He  who  thus  violates  a  man’s  rights  does  him  a 
wrong. 

249.  The  terms  applied  to  actions,  the  opposite  of 
right,  are,  violations  of  duties,  transgressions,  offenses, 
crimes,  vices,  sins. 

250.  The  law  assigns  to  each  person  his  rights;  but 


PERSONAL  RIGHTS. 


Ill 


the  law  also  aims  at  giving  to  each  person  what  it  is  right 
that  he  should  have.  That  which  is  legally  fixed  is  also 
intended  to  be  morally  right.  Hence  the  law  must  depend 
on  morality,  and  hence  the  rules  and  definitions  of  law 
may  change  from  time  to  time,  to  become  more  nearly 
conformed  to  what  is  right  in  itself.  In  the  progress  oi 
society  men  endeavor  to  determine  their  rights  more 
rightly  ;  to  make  laws  more  just.  Thus  law  must  ulti¬ 
mately  be  regulated  by  morality. 

251,  The  systems  of  law  especially  worthy  of  our  study 
are  the  Roman,  the  English,  and  our  own — which  is 
founded  on  the  latter.  [Whewell,  vol.  i. ;  Chalmers’  Works.] 


240.  What  is  the  origin  and  meaning  of  the  term  right,  as  a  substantive? 

241.  What  is  natural  jurisprudence  ? 

242.  What  is  the  object  of  civil  law  ? 

243.  What  ambiguity  is  there  in  the  use  of  the  word  right  ? 

244.  Is  the  existing  jurisprudence  of  society  to  be  complained  of,  because 
there  are  many  things  morally  right  which  it  has  not  made  legally  binding, 
and  many  things  most  offensively  wrong  which  it  does  not  punish  ? 

245.  While  the  right  and  the  rightness  are  separable  in  regard  to  the 
holder  of  the  right,  are  they  so  in  regard  to  the  other  party  ? 

246.  What  are  the  counterparts  of  right  and  rightness  ? 

247.  How  are  obligation  and  duty  then  to  be  distinguished? 

248.  What  is  the  opposite  of  rights  ? 

249.  What  terms  are  applied  to  actions  which  are  the  opposite  of  right? 

250.  What  relation  do  the  laws  of  state  bear  to  morality  ? 

251.  What  systems  of  law  especially  deserve  our  notice  and  study  ? 


CHAPTER  II. 

PERSONAL  RIGHTS. 

252,  Dr,  Paley,  in  treating  upon  personal  rights,  con¬ 
siders  them  (1.)  as  natural  or  adventitious  ;  (2.)  as  alien¬ 
able  or  unalienable  ;  (3.)  as  perfect  or  imperfect. 

253,  Natural  rights  are  such  as  would  belong  to  a  man 
although  there  subsisted  in  the  world  no  civil  government 
whatever.  Such,  for  example,  as  a  man’s  right  to  his  life, 
limbs,  and  liberty  ;  his  right  to  the  produce  of  his  personal 
labor ;  to  the  use,  in  common  with  others,  of  air,  light, 
and  water. 

254,  Adventitious  rights  are  dependent  on  the  laws  and 
institutions  of  civil  government :  such  as  the  right  of  a 
king  over  his  subjects ;  of  a  general  over  his  soldiers  ;  a 


112 


PERFECT  AND  IMPERFECT  RIGHTS. 


right  to  elect  or  appoint  magistrates,  to  impose  taxes, 
decide  disputes  ;  a  right,  in  few  words,  possessed  hy  one 
man  or  a  particular  body  of  men,  to  make  laws  and  regu¬ 
lations  for  the  rest. 

255.  In  regard  to  alienahle  and  unalienahle  rights,  the 
former  are  those  which  may  he  transferred  to  another 
person  ;  the  latter  may  not. 

The  light  to  most  of  those  things  which  we  call  prop¬ 
erty,  is  alienable  ;  the  right  of  a  prince  over  his  people, 
of  a  husband  over  his  wife,  is  unalienahle.  The  natural 
rights  may,  however,  be  forfeited  by  crime.  A  man  may 
be  deprived  of  liberty  to  prevent  his  injuring  others. 

256.  Perfect  rights  are  those  which  may  be  asserted 
hy  foi'ce,  or,  what  in  civil  society  comes  into  the  place 
of  private  force,  by  course  of  law ;  imperfect  rights  may 
not. 

257.  A  man’s  right  to  his  life,  person,  house,  are  exam¬ 
ples  of  perfect  rights :  for  if  these  be  attacked,  he  may 
repel  the  attack  by  instant  violence,  or  punish  the  aggres¬ 
sor  by  law  ;  a  man’s  right  to  his  estate,  furniture,  and  all 
ordinary  articles  of  property  :  for  if  they  be  injuriously 
taken  from  him,  he  may  compel  the  author  of  the  injury 
to  make  restitution  or  satisfaction. 

258.  Of  imperfect  rights  the  following  examples  are 
adduced  : — 

In  elections  or  appointments  to  offices,  the  best  quali¬ 
fied  candidate  has  a  right  to  success  ;  yet,  if  he  be  re¬ 
jected,  he  has  no  remedy.  He  can  neither  seize  the 
office  by  force,  nor  obtain  redress  at  law  ;  his  right  there¬ 
fore  is  imperfect. 

A  poor  neighbor  has  a  right  to  relief,  yet  if  it  be 
refused  him,  he  must  not  extort  it.  A  benefactor  has  a 
right  to  returns  of  gratitude  from  the  person  he  has 
obliged  ;  yet,  if  he  meet  with  none,  he  must  acquiesce. 

Children  have  a  right  to  affection  and  education  from 
their  parents  ;  and  parents,  on  their  part,  to  duty  and 
reverence  from  their  children ;  yet,  if  these  rights  be  on 
either  side  withholden,  there  is  no  legal  compulsion  by 
which  they  can  be  enforced. 

259.  There  are  cases  in  which  a  person  may  have  a 
right  to  a  thing,  and  yet  have  no  right  to  use  the  means 
necessary  to  obtain  it.  By  reason  of  the  indeterminate¬ 
ness  either  of  the  object  or  of  the  circumstances  of  the 


PERFECT  AND  IMPERFECT  RIGHTS. 


113 


light,  the  permission  of  force  in  this  case  would  in  its  con¬ 
sequence  lead  to  the  permission  of  force  in  other  cases, 
where  there  existed  no  right  at  all. 

A  poor  man  has  a  right  to  relief  from  the  rich  ;  but  the 
mode,  season,  and  amount  of  that  relief,  who  shall  con¬ 
tribute  to  it,  or  how  much,  is  not  ascertained.  Yet  these 
points  must  be  ascertained  before  a  claim  to  relief  can  be 
prosecuted  by  force.  For  to  allow  the  poor  to  ascertain 
these  points  for  themselves,  would  be  to  expose  property 
to  so  many  of  these  claims,  that  it  would  lose  its  value, 
or  rather,  would  cease  to  be  property. 

The  same  observation  holds  of  all  other  cases  of  im¬ 
perfect  rights ;  not  to  mention  that  in  the  instances  of 
gratitude,  affection,  reverence,  and  the  like,  force  is  ex¬ 
cluded  by  the  very  idea  of  the  duty,  which  must  be  vol¬ 
untary,  or  it  cannot  be  performed  at  all. 

260.  Where  the  right  is  imperfect,  the  corresponding 
obligation  is  imperfect  also  in  the  sense  already  explain¬ 
ed.  I  am  under  obligation  to  relieve  the  poor,  to  be 
grateful  to  my  benefactors,  take  care  of  my  children,  and 
reverence  my  parents ;  but,  in  all  these  cases,  my  obliga¬ 
tion,  like  their  right,  is  imperfect. 

261.  The  epithets  y»er/ec^  and  imperfect,  thus  applied, 
are  liable  to  objection.  They  seem  to  be  ill-chosen  on 
this  account,  that  the  use  of  them  leads  many  to  imagine 
that  there  is  less  guilt  in  the  violation  of  an  imperfect  obli¬ 
gation  than  of  a  perfect  one  ;  whereas,  an  obligation  being 
perfect  or  imperfect  determines  only  whether  force  may 
or  may  not  be  employed  to  enforce  it,  and  determines 
nothing  else. 

Religion  and  virtue  find  their  principal  exercise  among 
the  imperfect  obligations ;  the  laws  of  civil  society  take 
pretty  good  care  of  the  rest.  [Paley’s  Moral  Philosophy.] 

262.  According  to  Dr.  Channing,  man’s  rights  belong 
to  him  as  a  moral  being,  as  capable  of  perceiving  moral 
distinctions,  as  a  subject  of  moral  obligation.  As  soon  as 
he  becomes  conscious  of  duty,  a  kindred  consciousness 
springs  up  that  he  has  a  right  to  do  what  the  sense  of 
duty  enjoins,  and  that  no  foreign  will  or  power  can  ob¬ 
struct  his  moral  action  without  crime.  That  same  inward 
principle  which  teaches  a  man  what  he  is  bound  to  do  to 
others,  teaches  equally,  and  at  the  same  instant,  what 
others  are  bound  to  do  to  him.  That  same  voice  which 


114 


SUMMARY  OF  HUMAN  RIGHTS. 


forbids  him  to  injure  a  fellow-creature,  forbids  eveiy 
fellow-creature  to  do  him  harm. 

In  answer  to  the  question,  V/hat  rights  belong  to  human 
nature  1  he  observes  :  They  may  all  be  comprised  in  the 
right,  which  belongs  to  every  rational  being,  to  exercise 
his  powers  for  the  promotion  of  his  own  and  others’  hap¬ 
piness  and  virtue.  These  are  the  great  purposes  of  his 
existence.  He  is  bound  to  make  himself  and  others  bet¬ 
ter  and  happier  according  to  his  ability  ;  and  others  are 
equally  bound  to  allow  him  to  accomplish  this  grand  pur¬ 
pose  of  existence,  unmolested.  He  has  a  right,  there¬ 
fore,  to  use  the  means  given  by  God  for  this  purpose. 
He  has  a  right  to  be  respected  according  to  his  moral 
worth  ;  a  right  to  be  protected  by  impartial  laws  ;  a  right 
to  be  exempted  from  coercion,  stripes,  and  punishment, 
as  long  as  he  respects  the  rights  of  others.  He  has  a  right 
to  an  equivalent  for  his  labor.  He  has  a  right  to  sustain 
domestic  relations,  to  discharge  their  duties,  and  to  enjoy 
the  happiness  which  flows  from  fidelity  in  these  and  other 
relations. 

These  and  other  human  rights  are  not  to  be  given  up 
to  society  as  a  prey.  On  the  contrary,  the  great  end  of 
civil  society  is  to  secure  them.  The  great  end  of  govern¬ 
ment  is  to  repress  all  wrong.  It  is  said  that  in  forming 
civil  society,  the  individual  surrenders  a  part  of  his  rights. 
It  would  be  more  proper  to  say  that  he  adopts  new  modes 
of  securing  them.  He  consents,  for  example,  to  desist 
from  self-defense,  that  he  and  all  may  be  more  effectually 
defended  by  the  public  force.  He  consents  to  submit  his 
cause  to  an  umpire  or  tribunal,  that  justice  may  be  more 
impartially  awarded,  and  that  he  and  all  may  enjoy  more 
enduring  freedom.  He  consents  to  part  with  a  portion 
of  his  property  in  taxation,  that  his  own  and  others’  prop¬ 
erty  may  be  the  more  secure.  He  submits  to  certain  re¬ 
straints,  that  he  and  others  may  enjoy  more  enduring  free¬ 
dom.  He  expects  an  equivalent  for  what  he  relinquishes, 
and  insists  on  it  as  his  right. 

The  authority  of  the  state  to  impose  laws  on  its  mem¬ 
bers,  is  cheerfully  allowed ;  but  the  state  is  equally  re¬ 
strained  with  individuals  by  the  moral  law.  For  exam¬ 
ple,  it  may  not,  must  not,  on  any  account,  put  an  innocent 
man  to  death,  or  require  of  him  a  dishonorable  or  crimi¬ 
nal  service.  It  may  demand  allegiance,  but  only  on  the 


TRUE  AIM  OF  GOVERNMENT. 


115 


ground  of  the  protection  it  affords.  It  may  pass  laws,  but 
only  impartial  ones,  framed  for  the  whole,  and  not  for  the 
few.  It  must  regard  every  man,  over  whom  it  extends 
its  authority,  as  a  vital  part  of  itself,  as  entitled  to  its  care, 
and  to  its  provisions  for  liberty  and  happiness. 

That  government  is  most  perfect,  in  which  policy  is  most 
entirely  subjected  to  justice,  or  in  which  the  supreme  and 
constant  aim  is  to  secure  the  rights  of  every  human  being. 
This  is  the  beautiful  idea  of  a  free  government,  and  no 
government  is  free  but  in  proportion  as  it  realizes  this. 
Liberty  must  not  be  confounded  with  popular  institutions. 
A  representative  government  may  be  as  despotic  as  an 
absolute  monarchy.  In  as  far  as  it  tramples  on  the  rights 
of  many  or  of  one,  it  is  a  despotism. 

To  states,  as  to  individuals,  rectitude  is  the  supreme  law. 
It  was  never  designed  that  the  public  good,  as  disjoined 
from  this,  as  distinct  from  justice  and  reverence  for  all 
rights,  should  be  comprehended  and  made  an  end.  The 
good  of  the  individual  is  more  important  than  the  outward 
prosperity  of  the  state. 

[These  important  positions  have  been  eloquently  de¬ 
fended  by  the  late  Dr.  C banning  in  the  second  chapter 
of  his  work  on  Slavery.] 

252.  How  has  Dr.  Paley  divided  rights,  when  applied  to  persons  ? 

253.  How  are  natural  rights  defined? 

254.  How  are  adventitious  rights  defined  and  illustrated  ? 

255.  How  are  alienable  and  unalienable  rights  explained  ? 

256.  What  are  the  rights  which  are  denominated  perfect  and  imperfect  ? 

257.  What  examples  of  perfect  rights  are  given? 

258.  What  examples  does  Dr.  Paley  also  furnish  of  imperfect  rights? 

259.  How  can  a  person  have  a  right  to  a  thing,  and  yet  have  no  right  to 
use  the  means  necessary  to  obtain  it  ? 

260.  Where  the  right  is  imperfect,  is  the  corresponding  obligation  im¬ 
perfect  also  ? 

261.  Are  the  epithets  perfect  and  imperfect,  thus  applied,  liable  to 
objection  ? 

262.  What  view  has  Dr.  Channing  taken  of  human  rights? 


116 


FORMS  OF  CIVIL  GOVERNMENT. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  RIGHTS  OF  GOVERNMENT. 

263.  The  desire  of  civil  society  is  a  poAverful  spring 
of  human  action  ;  and  man  cannot  exist  as  man  except  he 
exist  in  civil  society  under  the  sway  of  rules  of  action 
really  enforced  by  some  of  the  members  of  the  commu¬ 
nity,  who  for  this  purpose  are  invested  with  the  rights  of 
government,  and  possess  authority  in  the  community. 

264.  The  rights  of  government  are  exemplified, — 

(1.)  Even  in  the  family,  and  especially  in  families  where 

the  paternal  power  is  most  ample. 

(2.)  When  the  children  of  such  a  family  grow  up,  and 
when  they  themselves  marry  and  have  children,  we  may 
still  conceive  the  habit  of  obedience  to  the  head  of  the 
family  to  remain.  As  the  family  extends,  it  becomes  a 
family  in  a  wider  sense  :  a  house,  a  tribe,  a  clan,  a  nation  ; 
but  it  may  still  continue  to  recognize  a  supreme  right  to 
obedience  in  the  common  parent.  Such  is  a  patriarchal 
government. 

(3.)  The  patriarchal  form  of  society  being  broken  up, 
the  mixture  of  families,  their  migrations  and  various  for¬ 
tunes,  still  further  loosen  and  destroy  the  bonds  of  patri¬ 
archal  government,  and  form  men  into  nations,  according 
to  various  conditions  of  race,  dwelling-place,  and  history. 
The  national  government  then  takes  the  place  of  the  patri¬ 
archal. 

265.  The  supreme  authority  of  a  nation  may  reside  in 
one  person,  or  in  many.  In  most  nations  there  is  a  differ¬ 
ence  of  ranks  connected  more  or  less  closely  with  the  ex¬ 
ercise  of  the  supreme  power.  These  have  certain  rights 
with  reference  to  each  other.  This  constitutes  the  politi¬ 
cal  structure  of  society.  The  laws  which  determine  the 
structure  of  the  government  and  the  duties  of  its  officers, 
are  the  constitution  of  the  nation. 

266.  The  various  forms  of  civil  government  are — 

(1.)  Absolute  monarchy,  or  despotism,  in  which  the  su¬ 
preme  authority  and  legislative  power  is  vested  in  one 
individual. 

(2.)  An  aristocracy,  in  which  it  is  exercised  by  a  body 


VARIOUS  KINDS  OF  LAWS. 


117 


of  men,  in  the  election  of  whom  the  people  are  not  con¬ 
sulted. 

(3.)  A  democracy ,  or  republic,  in  which  the  supreme 
power  is  exercised,  either  collectively  in  person,  or,  as  in 
the  United  States,  through  their  agents  or  representatives, 
chosen  by  them  at  stated  periods  for  this  purpose. 

(4.)  A  mixed  monarchy,  partaking  of  all  the  above  forms, 
yet  differing  essentially  from  each.  This  form  is  adopted 
in  England  and  France. 

267.  The  various  branches  of  a  well-regulated  civil  gov¬ 
ernment  are,  the  legislative  or  law-making,  whose  office  it 
is  to  remove  out  of  the  laws  all  that  is  unjust,  so  as  to  make 
them  more  and  more  just ;  the  judicial,  which  decides  dis¬ 
puted  questions  that  arise  among  its  citizens  concerning 
their  rights  and  obligations  ;  and  the  executive,  which  exe¬ 
cutes  existing  laws,  and  judicial  decisions. 

268.  Offenses  against  the  rights  of  government  are,  re¬ 
bellion,  when  subjects  openly  and  by  force  resist  their 
rulers ;  treason,  when  by  combination  and  contrivance 
they  seek  to  dispossess  them ;  sedition,  when  they  strive 
to  transfer  some  of  the  functions  of  government  to  other 
hands  than  the  regularly  constituted  authorities. 

In  many  free  states,  where  the  citizens  have  a  consid¬ 
erable  share  in  the  government,  they  are  divided  into^ar- 
ties,  which  act  upon  opposite  or  different  maxims  in  the 
administration  of  the  state. 

When  a  party  acts  not  for  the  good  of  the  state,  but 
for  its  own  advantage  as  a  party,  it  is  a  faction. 

269.  dtaw  is  distinguished  into  the  law  of  nature  {jus 
natures),  embracing  that  which  is  common  in  the  views 
and  determinations  of  all  civilized  countries  in  regard  to 
rights  and  obligations  ;  and  into  civil  or  municipal  law 
{jus  civile,  or  jus  municipale'),  that  which  is  peculiar  in 
the  law  of  a  particular  state  or  city. 

There  is  also  international  jus,  or  law  of  nations,  which 
defines  and  enforces  the  rights  which  nations  may  claim 
against  each  other. 

270.  The  obligation  of  law  has  been  distinguished  into 
moral  and  natural.  We  are  under  a  moral  obligation, 
that  is,  we  are  bound,  in  conscience,  to  obey  every  good 
law.  We  are  under  a  natural  obligation,  that  is,  we  are 
determined  by  prudence,  to  obey  even  those  bad  laws 
which  we  cannot  transgress  without  incurring  a  penalty. 


118  PERSONAL  AND  GOVERNMENTAL  RIGHTS. 


Bad  laws,  however,  we  ought  not  to  obey,  if  our  conscience 
declare  it  criminal  to  obey  them  ;  and  such  laws  seldom 
exist  in  regular  society. 

All  the  divine  laws  are  good,  and  guarded  by  the  most 
awful  sanctions ;  so  that  to  obey  them  we  are  under  the 
strongest  obligations,  natural  and  moral. 

[Whewell’s  Elements  of  Morality.] 

271.  The  following  declaration  of  rights,  personal  and 
governmental,  is  made  in  our  celebrated  Declaration  of 
Independence  ; — 

“We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident : — that  all 
men  are  created  equal ;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their 
Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights  ;  that  among  these 
are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness;  that  to  se¬ 
cure  these  rights,  governments  are  instituted  among  men, 
deriving  their  just  powers  from  the  consent  of  the  gov¬ 
erned  ;  that  whenever  any  form  of  government  becomes 
destructive  of  these  ends,  it  is  the  right  of  the  people  to 
alter  or  to  abolish  it,  and  to  institute  a  new  government, 
laying  its  foundation  on  such  principles,  and  organizing 
its  powers  in  such  form,  as  to  them  shall  seem  most  likely 
to  effect  their  safety  and  happiness. 

“  Prudence,  indeed,  will  dictate,  that  governments  long 
established  should  not  be  changed  for  light  and  transient 
causes  ;  and,  accordingly,  all  experience  hath  shown  that 
mankind  are  more  disposed  to  suffer  while  evils  are  suf¬ 
ferable,  than  to  right  themselves  by  abolishing  the  forms 
to  which  they  have  been  accustomed. 

“  But  when  a  long  train  of  abuses  and  usurpations,  pur¬ 
suing  invariably  the  same  object,  evinces  a  design  to  re¬ 
duce  them  under  absolute  despotism,  it  is  their  right,  it 
is  their  duty^  to  throw  off  such  g®vernment,  and  to  provide 
new  guards  for  their  future  security.” 

263.  Upon  what  necessity  are  the  rights  of  government  founded,  and 
what  is  their  nature? 

264.  Where  are  these  rights  exemplified  ? 

265.  In  whom  may  the  supreme  authority  of  a  nation  reside? 

266.  What  are  the  various  forms  of  civil  government  ? 

267.  What  are  the  various  branches  of  a  well-regulated  government? 

268.  What  otfenses  against  the  rights  of  government  may  be  committed  ? 

269.  How  is  law  distinguished? 

270.  How  has  the  obligation  of  law  been  distinguished  ? 

271.  What  declaration  of  rights  personal  and  governmental  is  made  in 
our  celebrated  “Declaration  of  Independence  ?” 


INSUFFICIENCY  OF  LIGHT  OF  NATURE. 


119 


BOOK  V. 

RELATIVE  IMPORTANCE  OF  NATURAL  AND  REVEALED 

MORALITY. 


CHAPTER  L 

INSUFFICIENCY  OF  THE  LIGHT  OF  NATURE. 

272.  In  whatever  manner  it  is  accounted  for,  the  fact 
cannot  be  disputed,  that  no  persons,  ancient  or  modern, 
who  had  only  the  light  of  nature  to  guide  them  in  their 
researches,  have  attained  to  the  true  knowledge  of  the 
unity  of  God  ;  or  have  formed  such  notions  of  his  wor¬ 
ship,  as  were  suitable  to  his  majesty,  holiness,  and  spiritu¬ 
ality  ;  or  have  composed  a  system  of  morality,  founded  on 
just  principles,  and  enforced  by  sanctions  of  such  efficacy, 
as  to  insure  obedience  to  its  precepts  ;  or  have  established 
by  convincing  arguments  the  doctrine  of  the  future  exist¬ 
ence  of  the  soul. 

Perplexed  with  doubts,  and  sensible  of  the  weakness 
of  their  reason,  the  heathens  themselves,  not  the  vulgar 
only  but  philosophers,  have  acknowledged  the  necessity 
of  a  divine  revelation. 

273.  Yet  modern  infidels,  in  proof  of  the  sufficiency  of 
reason,  among  other  things,  allege  that  they  can  produce 
a  system  of  natural  religion  complete  in  all  its  parts,  and 
supported  by  incontestable  evidence.  But  to  what  cause 
shall  we  attribute  their  superiority  to  the  wisest  men  of 
antiquity ;  to  Socrates,  Plato,  and  Aristotle  1  Does  nature 
now  speak  with  a  louder  voice,  and  are  her  lessons  writ¬ 
ten  in  more  legible  characters  1  No ;  but  the  circum¬ 
stances  of  our  modem  infidels,  and  of  the  philosophers  of 
antiquity,  are  exceedingly  different.  The  latter  felt  their 
way  amid  the  dubious  twilight  of  nature,  while  the  former 
walk  in  the  sunshine  of  revelation.  When  an  infidel 
boasts  of  the  clearness  and  extent  of  his  ideas  on  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  natural  religion,  he  is  a  dwarf  mounted  on  the 


120 


EXCELLENCE  OF  SCRIPTURE  MORALS. 


shoulders  of  a  giant  and  vaunting  that  he  sees  further  than 
a  man  of  ordinary  stature.  He  is  a  thief,  impudently 
attempting  to  rival  or  eclipse  the  splendor  of  another  man, 
by  a  display  of  those  riches  which  he  has  previously  stolen 
from  him.  It  is  to  the  Scriptures,  either  directly  or  indi¬ 
rectly,  that  he  is  indebted  for  the  greater  perfection  of  his 
system. 

274.  If  human  nature  is  depraved,  as  both  history  and 
experience  prove,  the  same  knowledge  will  not  suffice 
us,  which  would  have  been  sufficient  in  a  state  of  inno¬ 
cence.  Although  reason  were  able  to  discover  all  the 
articles  of  natural  religion,  it  would  not  have  been  a  com¬ 
petent  guide,  because  the  new  circumstances  of  man,  in 
consecpience  of  his  sins,  required  the  knowledge  of  new 
truths,  which  lay  beyond  the  range  of  its  inquiries.  Rea¬ 
son  could  give  us  no  adequate  information  respecting  the 
means  of  recovering  our  innocence,  and  regaining  the 
favor  of  our  Maker. 

We  need  to  know  whether  God  will  pardon  our 
offenses,  and  on  what  terms  he  will  pardon  them  ;  and  it 
is  manifest  that  on  these  points  none  can  give  us  informa¬ 
tion  but  himself.  On  the  supposition  of  a  remedial  scheme, 
or  a  divine  interposition  in  our  favor,  there  must  be  new 
duties  Incumbent  on  us,  of  which  the  light  of  nature  could 
give  us  no  notice,  because  they  are  the  result  of  a  new 
dispensation.  [Dick  on  Inspiration.] 

272.  Is  the  light  of  nature  found  sufficient  to  teach  us  our  duty,  and  to 
conduct  us  to  happiness  ? 

273.  What  do  infidels  allege  in  proof  of  the  sufficiency  of  reason  ;  and 
how  is  their  allegation  to  be  met? 

274.  What  proof  of  the  insufficiency  of  reason  in  matters  of  duty  and 
religion,  may  be  drawn  from  the  universal  depravity  of  man  ? 


CHAPTER  H. 

SUPERIOR  EXCELLENCE  OF  THE  MORALITY  TAUGHT  IN 
THE  SACRED  SCRIPTURES. 

275.  While  infidels  object  to  some  of  the  details,  and 
most  obviously  have  no  real  desire  to  promote  the  interests 
of  morality,  they  nevertheless  allow,  that  “  the  Gospel  is 
one  continued  lesson  of  the  strictest  morality  ;  of  justice, 


EXCELLENCE  OF  SCRIPTURE  MORALS, 


121 


of  benevolence,  and  of  universal  cliarlty,”  and  declare 
that  they  would  preserve  Christianity,  for  the  sake  of  its 
moral  influence  on  the  common  people. 

276.  The  morals  of  the  Scriptures  embrace  all  that  was 
really  good  in  the  ethics  of  heathen  sages,  and  in  the  dic¬ 
tates  of  natural  religion  ;  and  reenact  them  with  greater 
clearness  and  authority.  The  scattered  fragments  of 
moral  truth,  which  original  revelation,  or  the  moral  nature 
of  man,  or  the  labor  and  study  of  philosophers  have  dis¬ 
persed  up  and  down  in  the  world,  are  found  to  be  com¬ 
prehended  in  the  Bible. 

277.  There  is  a  completeness  in  the  Bible  code  of  pre¬ 
cepts,  found  nowhere  else.  They  insist  on  every  virtue 
and  duty  for  which  man  was  originally  formed  ;  and  for¬ 
bid  every  vice  and  sin  contrary  to  his  real  relations  and 
obligations.  There  is  nothing  omitted  of  the  duties  which 
he  owes  to  himself,  to  his  neighbor,  and  to  Almighty 
God;  nor,  as  in  heathen  and  Mohammedan  systems,  is 
there  anything  impure  or  debasing  intermixed  with  its 
code. 

278.  The  standard  of  duty  contained  in  the  sacred 
scriptures,  is  embodied  in  these  words  : — “  Thou  shall 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy 
soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind.  This  is  the  first  and  great 
commandment;  and  the  second  is  like  unto  it.  Thou  shall 
love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.^'  When  Jesus  Christ  uttered 
these  memorable  words,  he  raised  the  true  and  intelligible 
standard  of  morals,  which  places  even  a  child  in  a  Christian 
country  far  above,  in  this  respect,  the  greatest  moral 
philosophers  of  the  ancient  or  modem  world. 

279.  It  follows  from  this,  that  the  Christian  code  omits 
many  false  virtues  of  heathenism,  and  insists  on  many  real 
ones  unknown  to  it. 

Christianity  rejects  from  its  catalogue  of  virtues,  vanity, 
pride,  the  love  of  fame,  jealousy  of  honor,  resentment, 
revenge,  hatred  of  enemies,  contempt  of  the  low  and 
miserable,  self-confidence,  apathy  under  suffering,  and 
patriotism  in  the  sense  of  pushing  conquest  and  upholding 
the  interests  of  one  nation  to  the  hatred  and  injury  of 
others. 

Christianity  inserts  humility,  meekness,  the  forgiveness 
of  personal  injuries,  self-denial,  abstraction  of  hpart  from 
earthly  things,  sympathy  with  the  poor  and  mean,  renun- 

F 


122 


EXCELLENCE  OF  SCRIPTURE  MORALS. 


ciation  of  confidence  in  self,  cheerful  resignation  under 
affliction. 

280.  The  Christian  code  requires  an  abstinence  from 
the  q^roximate  causes  of  evil,  and  demands  what  is  right 
in  motive  and  intention,  as  well  as  in  the  overt  act. 

Human  laws  chiefly  deal  with  the  manifest  action,  when 
capable  of  proof.  They  argue  back  very  feebly  to  the 
intention,  which  they  still  do  aim  at  reaching  as  they  can. 
The  divine  law  lays  the  restraint  upon  the  intention,  the 
first  element  of  the  moral  action  of  man ;  it  considers 
nothing  to  be  virtuous,  unless  the  motive,  as  well  as  the 
material  action,  be  right. 

281.  Christian  morality  regards  all  outward  forms  of 
devotion  and  piety  as  means  to  a  higher  end,  and  as  only 
acceptable  to  Grod  when  connected  with  that  higher  end. 
In  this  it  stands  opposed  to  all  false  religions,  which  in¬ 
variably  connive  at  the  substitution  of  ceremonies  and 
ablutions,  for  moral  duty. 

282.  The  Christian  7norals  go  to  form  a  particular  sort 
of  character,  of  such  excellence  as  no  other  system  of  ethics 
ever  aimed  at. 

They  go  to  form  a  character  perfectly  attainable,  and 
yet  altogether  new  and  lovely ;  they  tend  to  form  a  tem¬ 
per  and  conduct  so  excellent  and  praiseworthy,  and  yet 
so  unknown  to  heathen  moralists,  as  to  stamp  upon 
Christianity  the  seal  of  its  heavenly  origin. 

283.  The  sacred  writers  placed  duty  upon  its  proper 
basis,  the  principle  of  piety,  a  sacred  regard  to  the  will  of 
God ;  whereas  other  moralists  found  it  upon  the  deduc¬ 
tions  of  reason,  the  fitness  of  things,  and  views  of  private 
and  public  good.  Separated  from  piety,  morality  is 
merely  a  matter  of  decorum  or  of  interest :  but  in  con¬ 
nection  with  it,  morality  is  the  homage  of  creatures  to 
their  Creator. 

284.  The  peculiar  excellence  of  the  moral  precepts  of 
Scripture,  furnishes  a  convincing  argument  to  prove  their 
divine  origin. 

Tlie  argument  is  thus  clearly  presented  by  Professor 
Dick  : — . 

The  Christian  law  is  perfect :  it  embraces  all  the  duties 
of  man,  and  lays  the  foundation  of  the  highest  attainments 
in  virtue  ;  and  were  it  universally  obeyed,  the  innocence 
of  the  golden  age  would  be  revived,  and  the  earth  would 


DIVINE  ORIGIN  OF  SCRIPTURE  MORALS. 


123 


Ibe  an  unvaried  scene  of  peace  and  good-wlll.  Now,  let 
it  he  observed  by  whom  this  lain  was  given  to  the  world.  It 
was  never  alleged  that  they  were  distinguished  by  emi¬ 
nence  in  intellectual  vigor,  by  literary  accomplishments, 
by  metaphysical  acumen,  or  by  large  experience  of  human 
life.  The  greater  part  of  them,  confessedly,  could  lay  no 
claim  to  these  qualifications.  Yet  they  have  delivered  a 
code  which  far  surpasses  the  most  celebrated  laws  and 
precepts  of  the  legislators  and  wise  men  of  the  heathen 
world. 

To  what  cause  can  we  ascribe  their  superiority]  I. 
their  wisdom  was  more  than  human,  it  must  have  been 
derived  from  a  superhuman  source.  Since  infidels  will 
not  admit  this  inference,  let  them  substitute  a  better  one. 

Suppose  it  possible  for  the  sacred  writers  to  have  in¬ 
vented  this  code  of  morality,  would  they  have  done  so] 
Would  impostoi's  have  labored  to  subject  the  world  to  a 
law  so  holy ;  a  law  which,  in  the  first  place,  condemned 
themselves  for  presuming  to  use  the  name  of  God,  with  a 
design  to  deceive  their  fellow  men  ]  Would  they  who 
set  out  with  a  gross  violation  of  truth  and  of  charity,  have 
been  anxious  to  guard  others  against  evil  thoughts  and 
contrivances  ]  W ould  men  who  entertained  no  reverence 
for  the  Supreme  Being,  have  placed  him  at  the  head  of 
the  system,  and  discovered  a  jealous  care  of  his  honor,  a 
desire  to  make  him  the  obiect  of  universal  respect  and 
love  ] 

The  frecepts  of  the  Bible  are  an  irresistible  proof  that 
the  Bible  did  not  emanate  from  had  men :  and  good 
men  would  not  have  passed  it  on  the  world  as  di  vine,  if  it 
had  originated  from  themselves.  They  might  have  pre¬ 
sented  it  to  the  public  as  their  view  of  a  subject  about 
which  so  many  have  delivered  their  sentiments;  but  they 
would  have  given  it  in  such  a  form,  and  accompanied  it 
with  such  declarations,  as  would  have  satisfied  all  that 
it  was  a  work  of  their  own. 


275.  What  concessions  have  the  most  distinguished  infidels  published 
in  reference  to  the  morals  taught  in  the  sacred  scriptures  ? 

276.  How  will  the  morals  of  the  Scriptures  bear  a  comparison  with  the 
ethics  of  heathen  sages? 

277.  Are  we  justified  in  asserting  the  completeness  of  the  Bible  code  of 
precepts  ? 

278.  What  sort  of  a  standard  of  duty  do  the  Scriptures  hold  up  to  men? 

279.  What  inference  is  to  be  drawn  from  this  alleged  fact  ? 


124 


HOW  DUTY  IS  TAUGHT  IN  SCRIPTURE. 


280.  Does  the  Christian  code  of  morals  extend  its  requirements  and  pro¬ 
hibitions  beyond  the  external  act? 

281.  How  does  Christian  morality  regard  all  outward  forms  of  devotion? 

282.  What  sort  of  character  do  the  Christian  morals  go  to  form  ? 

283.  How  does  the  superior  excellence  of  the  Christian  morals  appear 
from  the  basis  on  which  they  are  made  to  rest  ? 

284.  May  we  not  found  an  argument  for  the  truth  of  revealed  religion 
upon  its  moral  precepts,  the  peculiar  excellence  of  which  has  now  been 
demonstrated  ? 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  MANNER  IN  WHICH  OUR  DUTY  IS  TAUGHT  IN  THE 
HOLY  SCRIPTURES. 

285.  Sometimes  the  Scriptures  enter  into  a  detail  of 
duties  ;  but  had  they  attempted  to  point  out  all  the  mi¬ 
nutiae  of  duty,  they  would  have  swelled  to  such  a  size 
as  would  have  defeated  their  design,  because  few  could 
have  found  leisure  to  peruse  them,  and  still  fewer  would 
have  been  accurately  acquainted  with  their  multifarious 
contents. 

286.  The  sacred  writers  deliver  their  instructions  in  the 
Jor?n  of  maxims,  and  of  clear,  decisive  prohibitions  or  re¬ 
quirements,  rather  than  in  systematic  treatises  reasoned 
out  in  detail.  And  there  is  great  advantage  in  such  a 
course  of  instruction  in  our  duty.  It  is  brief  and  intel¬ 
ligible.  The  Ten  Commandments,  who  cannot  remem¬ 
ber  1  The  vindication  of  them,  in  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount,  from  the  false  glosses  of  the  Jews,  who  cannot 
understand  1  The  exposition  of  a  right  temper  in  the 
twelfth  chapter  of  Romans,  where  is  the  heart  that  does 
not  feel  1  The  picture  of  charity,  or  love,  in  the  thirteenth 
of  the  first  of  Corinthians,  is  familiar  to  a  child.  The  max¬ 
ims  of  the  Book  of  Proverbs  are  in  every  mouth.  Revela¬ 
tion,  thus,  does  not  reason  as  a  philosopher,  but  commands 
as  a  lawgiver. 

287.  Revelation  utters  with  sententious  authority  her 
brief  determinations,  as  occasions  require,  in  popular  lan¬ 
guage,  for  the  understanding  of  all ;  and  leaves  man  to 
collect,  as  he  can,  her  maxims  into  systems,  or  compare 
and  illustrate  them  by  the  aid  of  sound  reason  and  con¬ 
science. 


HOW  DUTY  IS  TAUGHT  IN  SCRIPTURE. 


125 


Human  treatises  on  morals  stop  to  define  and  prove 
evei’y  duty,  to  contrast  it  with  its  proximate  defect  and 
excess,  and  to  reduce  the  whole  to  an  elaborate  system. 
Revelation  takes  for  granted  that  man  knows  what  tem¬ 
perance,  chastity,  fortitude,  benevolence,  mean,  or  may 
learn  them  from  other  sources,  and  contents  herself  with 
binding  them  upon  the  conscience.  The  consequence  is, 
that  a  child  at  school,  in  a  Christian  country,  knows  more 
of  the  standard  of  morals,  and  the  details  of  social  virtue, 
than  the  most  learned  of  the  ancient  sages. 

288.  The  sacred  writers  set  forth  human  duty  hy  strong 
and  affecting  examples.  This  is  peculiar  to  the  writers  of 
the  Bible.  All  its  precepts  are  illustrated  and  embodied 
in  the  historical  parts.  All  the  separate  virtues,  duties, 
graces,  acts  of  abstinence  and  self-denial,  effects  of  the 
Christian  spirit,  and  of  its  principles  carried  out  into  habit 
and  character,  are  set  forth  in  the  lives  of  Christ  and  of 
his  apostles. 

All  the  infirmities,  and  errors,  and  vices  to  he  shunned, 
are  exposed  in  the  fearful  punishments  of  guilty  nations, 
in  the  destruction  of  the  cities  of  the  plain,  in  the  deluge, 
in  the  captivity  of  Babylon,  in  the  lives  of  wicked  princes. 

With  this  view  also,  the  sins  and  falls  of  the  true  ser¬ 
vants  of  God  are  held  forth  for  our  caution,  with  a  fidelity 
unknown  except  in  the  inspired  scriptures — the  drunk¬ 
enness  of  Noah,  the  incest  of  Lot,  the  falsehoods  uttered 
by  Abraham  and  Jacob,  the  irritated  expressions  of  Moses, 
the  sin,  the  gross  and  awful  sin  of  David,  the  rashness  of 
Josiah. 

The  attempts  made  by  infidel  writers  to  misrepresent 
the  purport  of  some  of  these  narratives  are  too  absurd  to 
be  noticed.  The  tendency  of  the  scriptural  exposure  of 
vice  is  to  excite  abhorrence  ;  to  which  the  plainness  and 
brevity  of  its  descriptions,  and  even  the  directness  of  the 
terms  which  it  employs,  greatly  conduce.  A  few  expres¬ 
sions  have  acquired  an  import,  from  the  mere  lapse  of 
time  since  our  English  ti’anslation  was  made,  not  origi¬ 
nally  designed,  and  are  instantly  corrected  by  every  intel¬ 
ligent  reader. 

289.  The  sacred  writers  furnish  exampiles  which  hold 
forth  the  duties  of  parents  and  children,  of  masters  and 
servants,  of  husbands  and  wives,  of  ministers,  of  mission¬ 
aries,  and  of  teachers  of  youth.  They  supply  us  also 


126  THE  SCRIPTURES  RENDER  DUTY  PRACTICABLE. 

with  examples  which  display  the  faults  and  excellences 
of  nations,  of  bodies  politic,  of  legislators,  of  magistrates, 
and  of  churches. 

290.  The  peculiar  truths  of  the  gospel,  as  well  as  those 
other  parts  of  revelation  with  which  the  precepts  are  in¬ 
separably  connected,  are  employed  as  fit  and  powerful 
motives  to  secure  obedience  to  the  maxims  and  precepts  of 
duty. 

291.  The  great  facts  on  which  the  revealed  doctrines 
rest,  and  which  prepare  for  the  operation  of  motives,  are, 
the  fall  and  corruption  of  man  ;  the  mercy  of  God  in  the 
gift  of  his  Son;  the  birth,  sufferings,  and  death  of  Jesus 
Christ;  the  descent  and  operations  of  the  Holy  Ghost; 
the  promulgation  of  the  Christian  religion;  and  its  offers 
to  mankind. 

The  facts  of  Christianity,  brought  home  to  man’s  heart, 
that  is,  being  truly  believed,  render  morals  practicable, 
natural,  delightful. 

292.  The  doctrines,  which  are  explanatory  of  the  facts 
of  revelation,  are  expressly  designed  and  admirably  adapt¬ 
ed  to  produce,  in  those  who  believe  them,  a  confoiTnity 
to  its  moral  precepts  and  maxims. 

It  might  be  shown  also  that  the  peculiar  doctrines  of 
revelation  go  to  form  exactly  that  sort  of  character,  and  no 
other,  which  the  morals  require  ;  and  that  the  precepts  de¬ 
lineate  and  require  that  sort  of  character,  and  no  other, 
which  the  doctrines  go  to  form. 

293.  The  promises  and  privileges  of  Christianity  are 
attached  to  certain  dispositions  and  states  of  mind,  which 
are  essential  parts  of  the  morals  of  revelation  ;  and  hence 
they  become  powerful  motives  to  obedience. 

294.  The  precepts  are  involved  in  all  the  other  parts 
of  revelation.  There  is  scarcely  a  chapter  in  any  of  the 
merely  historical  books  that  is  not  fraught  with  moral  in¬ 
struction  in  the  form  of  exhortations,  examples,  and  warn¬ 
ings.  In  regard  to  the  prophets,  the  scope  of  all  their 
remonstrances,  persuasions,  and  invitations  is  to  induce 
the  disobedient  and  immoral  to  a  life  of  virtue  and  piety. 
The  same,  in  a  higher  degree,  may  be  said  of  the  evan¬ 
gelical  histoiies,  and  the  epistles  of  the  holy  apostles. 

In  short,  as  the  precepts  without  the  doctrines  of  reve¬ 
lation  prescribe  an  unattainable  rule,  so  the  doctrines 
without  the  precepts  fail  in  their  great  purpose — evapo- 


INFERENCES  PROM  SCRIPTURE.  127 

rate  in  mere  emotions  and.  sensibilities,  and  can  neither 
sanctify  nor  save. 

295.  The  details  of  human  duty  may  be  learned  from 
the  Scriptures  by  adopting  the  rules  laid  down  in  Book 
VI.  Section  VII. 

•  296.  In  regard  to  the  question  whether  it  is  lawful  to 
draw  inferences  from  Scripture,  nothing  is  more  plain, 
than  that  when  a  proposition  is  laid  down  from  which 
certain  inferences  naturally  arise,  it  is  the  office  of  the 
understanding  to  draw  the  conclusions,  and  to  rest  in 
them  with  equal  confidence  as  in  the  premises  from  which 
they  are  deduced.  This  is  the  mode  of  procedure  of 
all  intelligent  creatui’es,  in  the  matters  to  which  they 
turn  their  attention.  Human  knowledge  would  be  ex- 

O 

ceedingly  circumscribed  and  imperfect,  if  our  views 
were  strictly  confined  to  facts ;  and  these  would  be  of 
little  use,  if  we  were  not  permitted  to  educe  from  them 
observations  and  maxims  for  the  regulation  af  our  conduct. 

Had  everything  which  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  know 
been  delivered  in  express  terms  in  the  Scriptures,  the 
Bible  would  have  been  too  voluminous  for  general  use ; 
and  beside,  such  minuteness  was  not  necessary.  God 
does  not  speak  in  it  to  children  merely,  but  to  men  who 
are  capable  of  reasoning  on  the  common  affairs  of  life, 
and  can  use  this  power  in  matters  of  religion. 

297.  The  denial  of  the  lawfulness  of  drawing  infer¬ 
ences  from  Scripture,  goes  much  further  than  the  oj)po- 
nents  of  drawing  inferences  are  awrae,  and  would  place 
them  and  us  in  the  most  awkward  and  ridiculous  situa¬ 
tion  ;  for  it  would  follow  that  we  must  never  write  or 
speak  about  religion  but  in  the  words  of  inspiration,  and 
that  all  theological  books  and  all  sermons  should  be  dis¬ 
carded  :  for  of  what  do  they  consist  but  of  inferences 
from  Scripture,  when  they  do  not  merely  retail  its  words, 
but  attempt  to  explain  their  meaning  % 

[Wilson’s  Evidences ;  Prof.  Dick’s  Lectures.] 


285.  Do  the  Scriptures  enter  into  a  full  detail  of  human  duty  ? 

286.  What  is  the  usual  form  in  which  human  duty  is  taught  by  the 
sacred  writers  ? 

287.  In  teaching  morality,  how  does  revelation  differ  from  human 
treatises  ? 

288.  What  other  mode,  beside  that  of  brief  ma.xims,  requirements,  or 
prohibitions,  do  the  sacred  writers  employ,  to  make  us  acquainted  with 
our  various  duties  T 


128 


SANCTIONS  OF  SCRIPTURAL  MORALITY. 


289.  What  other  scriptural  examples,  illustrative  and  enforcive  of  human 
duty,  might  be  adduced  ? 

290.  What  constraining  and  persuasive  motives  of  duty  do  the  sacred 
writers  employ  to  render  their  moral  teachings  availing? 

291.  What  are  the  facts  on  which  the  revealed  doctrines  rest,  and  which 
prepare  for  the  operation  of  motives  most  powerful,  universal,  and  per¬ 
manent  ? 

292.  How  is  the  morality  of  revelation  supported  and  brought  into  exer¬ 
cise  by  means  of  its  doctrines  ? 

293.  W'hat  aid  to  good  morals  is  furnished  in  the  promises  and  privileges 
of  Christianity  ? 

294.  How  are  the  precepts  involved  in  all  the  other  parts  of  revelation? 

295.  Since  the  Scriptures  do  not  furnish  us  with  all  the  details  of  duty, 
how  is  that  deficiency  to  be  supplied  ? 

296.  A  question  has  been  raised  whether  it  is  lawful  to  draw  inferences 
from  Scripture,  and  what  authority  should  be  assigned  to  them  ? 

297.  What  consequence  is  involved  in  the  denial  of  the  lawfulness  of 
drawing  inferences  from  Scripture? 


CHAPTER  IV. 

SANCTIONS  BY  WHICH  THE  MORALS  OF  REVELATION 
ARE  ULTIMATELY  ENFORCED. 

298.  Whatever  be  the  extent  and  purity  of  the  rule 
of  duty,  whatever  the  means  by  which  it  works,  what¬ 
ever  its  inseparable  connection  with  the  doctrines  of 
revelation,  all  is  inefficient,  unless  the  authority  which 
it  brings  to  bear  upon  the  conscience,  and  the  rewards 
and  punishments  attached  to  it,  are  weighty,  solemn, 
efficacious. 

A  hand  dissevered  from  the  body,  might  as  well  be 
represented  as  sufficient  for  the  purposes  of  labor,  as  un¬ 
connected  and  unauthoritative  principles,  for  the  purposes 
of  morality. 

299.  Heathen  morals,  in  addition  to  innumerable  other 
deficiencies,  labored  under  one  which  was  fatal  to  the 
whole  system  ;  they  had  no  adequate  sanction,  no  author¬ 
ity,  no  knowledge  clear  and  definite  of  a  future  state, 
or  an  eternal  judgment. 

Infidelity  builds  on  no  firmer  foundation,  when  she 
pretends  to  raise  her  morals  on  the  love  of  glory,  honor, 
interest,  utility,  and  the  progress  of  civilization,  with 
some  feeble  admissions  of  the  belief  of  a  future  life. 

300.  Christianity  stands  forth  in  the  midst  of  mankind, 
the  only  religion  which  asserts  the  will  of  God  to  be  the 


IDENTITY  OF  MORALITY  AND  RELIGION.  129 


dear  and  unbending  rule  of  duty,  and  refers  men  to  an 
eternal  retribution  as  its  ultimate  sanction.  Her  morality 
conduces,  indeed,  to  the  welfare  of  man,  it  is  agreeable 
to  the  reason  of  things,  it  responds  to  the  voice  of  con¬ 
science  ;  but  none  of  these  is  its  foundation. 

The  WILL  OF  God,  founded  on  the  infinite  rectitude 
of  his  nature,  is  the  brief,  undeviating  authority  of  moral 
obedience.  And  what  majesty  does  this  throw  around 
the  precepts  of  the  Bible  !  “  Thus  saith  the  Lord,”  is 

the  introduction,  the  reason,  the  obligation  of  every 
command. 

301.  Concerning  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punfsh- 
ments,  nature  is  ignorant :  nature  knows  nothing  dis¬ 
tinctly  of  the  rules  of  the  last  judgment. 

Revelation  alone  pronounces,  with  its  awful  voice,  the 
immortality  of  the  soul.  Revelation  unveils  the  eternal 
world.  [Wilson’s  Evidences.] 

298.  Of  what  importance  are  the  sanctions  of  morality  ? 

299.  W'hat  was  a  fatal  deficiency  in  heathen  morals? 

300.  Wherein  consists  the  superiority  of  Christian  morals  as  to  adequate 
sanctions  ? 

301.  What  contrast  exists  between  the  teachings  of  paganism  or  of  infi¬ 
delity,  and  those  of  revelation,  concerning  a  future  state  of  rewards  and 
punishments  ? 


CHAPTER  V. 

IDENTITY  OF  MORALITY  AND  RELIGION. 

302.  Upon  the  question,  whether  a  man  may  be 
properly  denominated  a  moral  man,  though  destitute  of 
religion,  the  doctrine  of  the  Scriptures  is  comprehended 
in  one  proposition,  “  This  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we 
keep  his  commandments.” 

The  ”  keeping  of  God’s  commandments,”  is  a  com¬ 
prehensive  definition  of  morality  :  the  “  love  of  God,”  is 
the  sum  of  religious  principle  and  of  religious  character; 
and  the  proposition  quoted  from  the  New  Testament 
affirms,  “  This  is  the  love  of  God,  that  we  keep  his  com¬ 
mandments,” 

The  meaning  of  this  proposition  obviously  is,  that 
there  is  no  love  of  God  without  the  keeping  of  his  com- 


130 


PECULIARITY  OF  BIBLE  MORALS. 


mandrnents ;  and  that  there  is  no  keeping  of  his  com¬ 
mandments  without  love  to  God :  a  statement  which 
amounts  to  the  same  thing  as  this  other, — that  there  is  no 
religion  without  morality,  and  that  there  is  no  morality 
without  religion.  He  who  loves  God  keeps  the  com¬ 
mandments  in  principle :  he  who  keeps  the  command¬ 
ments,  loves  God  in  action.  Love  is  obedience  in  the 
heart :  obedience  is  love  in  the  life.  Morality,  then,  is 
religion  in  practice  :  religion  is  morality  in  principle. 

303.  In  the  language  of  general  society,  the  good  man 
is  the  man  who  has  sufficient  means,  and  sufficient  honor, 
to  pay  his  debts.  The  term  virhie  is  applied  mei'ely  to 
relative  and  social  virtues,  and  especially  those  which 
support  one’s  credit  in  the  business  world.  The  virtues 
of  truth,  and  integrity,  and  honor,  especially  when  united 
with  generosity  and  practical  kindness,  will  secure  the 
designation,  although  there  should  be  no  very  rigid 
adherence  to  those  of  temperance  and  chastity;  but  if 
these,  in  any  unusual  degree,  are  united  with  the  former, 
the  man  becomes  a  paragon  of  goodness,  the  very  best  of 
men,  and  sure  of  beaven  if  any  on  earth  are.  Meanwhile, 
piety,  which  is  entitled  to  the  precedence  of  all  these 
virtues,  and  without  which  they  are  destitute  of  the  very 
first  principle  of  pure  morality,  is  altogether  omitted  in 
the  account. 

Even  in  the  writings  of  ethical  philosophers  religion 
and  morality  are  severed  in  the  same  way.  They  em¬ 
brace  discussions  on  morals,  such  as  would  require  no  very 
material  alteration  to  accommodate  them  to  atheism. 

304.  It  is  one  of  the  distinguishing  peculiarities  of  all 
Bible  morality,  that  it  begins  ivith  God,  that  it  makes 
godliness  its  first  and  fundamental  principle ;  and  this 
peculiarity  forms  one,  and  not  the  least  considerable,  of 
the  internal  evidences  for  the  divine  original  of  the  Bible. 

No  right  moral  principle  is  there  admitted  to  exist,  in¬ 
dependent  of  a  primary  and  supreme  regard  to  Deity. 
There  is  no  such  anomaly  to  be  found  there,  as  that 
which  meets  us  so  frequently  in  the  language  of  the 
world’s  morality, — a  good  heart,  or  a  good  man,  without 
the  principles  and  sentiments  of  godliness. 

305.  The  Scriptures,  in  thus  identifying  morality  and 
religion,  may  easily  be  vindicated  on  principles  of  reason  : 
for  does  not  the  Bible,  in  the  ground  it  takes,  give  God 


MORALITY  AND  RELIGION  IDENTICAL. 


131 


his  proper  place  1  Would  not  the  adoption  of  a  lower 
position,  in  any  book  pretending  to  be  from  God,  have 
been  of  itself,  sufficient  to  discredit  and  repudiate  its  pre¬ 
tensions  1 

We  are  often  told  that  relative  morality  consists  in 
giving  every  one  his  due.  The  definition  is  a  good  one ; 
but  the  application  of  it  should  commence  at  the  highest 
point  in  the  scale  of  obligation.  Is  there  nothing  due 
from  creatures,  but  to  their  fellow-creatures  I  Has  the 
everlasting  God  nothing  due  to  him  1  Is  not  love  his 
due  ^  Is  not  worship  his  due  1  Is  not  obedience  his 
due  ?  The  Deity  must  not  be  degraded  to  a  secondary 
station  :  he  is  entitled  to  the  first. 

306.  The  obligation  to  God,  compared  with  other  obli¬ 
gations,  is  the  first  that  binds  the  creature,  and  in  this 
obligation  all  other  obligations  originate  ;  they  depend 
upon  it ;  they  are  comprehended  in  it.  What  are  the 
duties  which  we  owe  to  our  fellow-creatures,  but  inte¬ 
grant  parts  of  his  law  ?  It  is  as  His  -precepts  that  they 
must  be  fulfilled ;  so  that,  if  they  are  duly  done,  they 
must  be  done  from  regard  to  his  authority,  which  amounts 
to  the  same  thing  with  their  being  done  from  a  religious 
principle. 

The  precepts  of  the  first  and  second  tables  of  the  revealed 
law  come  equally  under  the  designation  of  moral  duties. 
The  obligation  to  the  one  and  to  the  other  is  the  very 
same.  The  man  who  obeys  his  parents,  who  keeps  his 
word,  who  pays  his  debts,  who  dispenses  his  charities, 
who  performs  any  other  acts,  under  the  influence  of  prin¬ 
ciples  that  rise  no  higher  than  to  a  recognition  of  the 
claims  of  his  fellow-creatures,  has  the  first  principles  of 
moral  obligation  yet  to  learn. 

307.  In  the  department  of  morals,  as  well  as  in  that  of 
natural  science,*Tnischief  often  arises  from  the  substitution 
of  the  word  Nature,  instead  of  the  word  God.  Though 
the  term  Nature  is  used  only  by  a  figure  of  speech,  yet  it 
is  employed  by  writers  on  natural  philosophy  in  such  a 
way,  and  so  often,  that  there  is  danger  of  its  assuming  in 
the  mind  an  imaginary  personality,  like  the  mysterious 
“  plastic  power”  of  some  of  the  ancients ;  putting  forth 
voluntary  energies  in  the  production,  arrangement,  and 
superintendence  of  the  universe. 

Thus  also  it  happens  in  the  science  of  ethics.  Moral 


132 


PIETY  THE  SOURCE  OF  VIRTUE. 


theorists  speak  of  the  dictates  of  nature,  till  they  too  are 
in  danger  of  forgetting  “  nature’s  God.”  According  to 
their  language,  nature  teaches  parents  to  love  their  chil¬ 
dren  ;  nature  inculcates  truth  and  humanity  ;  nature  rep¬ 
robates  malevolence  and  falsehood.  The  laws  of  nature 
are  spoken  of,  till  it  slips  out  of  mind  that  they  are  the 
laws  of  God ;  and  the  real  impulse,  or  the  supposed  dic¬ 
tate,  of  nature,  assumes  the  place  of  the  divine  will. 

[Wardlaw’s  Christian  Ethics.] 

Is  virtue,  then,  and  piety  the  same? 

No ;  piety  is  more  ;  ’tis  virtue’s  source  ; 

Mother  of  ev’ry  worth,  as  that  of  joy. 

Men  of  the  world  this  doctrine  ill  digest; 

They  smile  at  piety ;  yet  boast  aloud 

Good-will  to  men  ;  nor  know,  they  strive  to  part 

What  nature  joins  ;  and  thus  confute  themselves. 

With  piety  begins  all  good  on  earth ; 

’Tis  the  first-born  of  rationality. 

On  piety,  humanity  is  built ; 

And,  on  humanity,  much  happiness; 

And  yet  still  more  on  piety  itself. 

A  soul  in  commerce  with  her  God,  is  heav'n ; 

Feels  not  the  tumults  and  the  shocks  of  life. 

The  whirls  of  passion,  and  the  strokes  of  heart 

A  Deity  believed,  is  joy  begun  ; 

A  Deity  adored,  is  joy  advanced ; 

A  Deity  beloved,  is  joy  matured. 

Young. 


302.  Do  the  sacred  scriptures  warrant  the  too  prevalent  opinion  that 
morality  and  religion  are  distinct  attributes  of  character ;  that  a  man  may 
be  properly  denominated  a  moral  man  though  destitute  of  religion? 

303.  How  does  the  sentiment  of  Scripture  differ  from  the  sentiment 
expressed  in  society  and  in  the  writings  of  philosophers  ? 

304.  What,  in  contrast  with  prevailing  sentiment,  is  one  of  the  distin¬ 
guishing  peculiarities  of  all  Bible  morality  ? 

305.  Can  the  Scriptures  be  vindicated  on  principles  of  reason  for  thus 
identifying  morality  and  religion ;  for  asserting  that  the  one  cannot  exist 
without  the  other  ? 

206.  How  is  our  obligation  to  God  related  to  other  obligations,  and  what 
is  their  relative  importance  ? 

307.  In  the  department  of  morals,  as  well  as  in  that  of  natural  philoso¬ 
phy,  what  danger  arises  from  the  substitution  of  the  word  nature  instead 
of  God? 


DUTIES  WHICH  EESPECT  OURSELVES. 


133 


BOOK  VI. 

OF  THE  VARIOUS  BRANCHES  OF  HUMAN  DUTY. 

This  Book  is  divided  into  two  Parts :  the  first  em¬ 
braces  a  consideration  of  the  duties  which  respect  ourselves, 
and  which  may  be  learned  in  a  great  measure  from  an 
investigation  of  our  active  and  moral  powers.  In  the 
Book  which  treats  of  these,  some  remarks  are  made  upon 
the  duty  and  mode  of  a  proper  exercise  and  control  of 
these  powers,  which  remarks,  but  for  the  sake  of  con¬ 
venience,  might  have  been  reserved  to  this  place,  and 
may  be  profitably  referred  to,  in  connection  with  the  du¬ 
ties  that  stand  somewhat  related,  and.  which  are  now  to 
be  described. 

The  second  Part  of  Book  VI.  defines  the  duty  of  man 
chiefly  with  respect  to  other  heings,  as  it  may  be  learned 
from  the  two  fundamental  Laws  of  Love — that  of  love 
to  God,  and  that  of  love  to  our  neighbor  ;  from  the  law 
d.elivered  by  our  Savior — “  All  things  whatsoever  ye 
would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them 
from  St.  Paul’s  beautiful  description  of  love  to  our  neigh¬ 
bor;  from  the  Ten  Commandments;  and  from  the  biog¬ 
raphy  of  Christ,  and  of  his  followers 


PART  I. 

OF  THE  DUTIES  WHICH  RESPECT  OURSELVES. 

INTRODUCTORY  REMARKS. 

Man,  doubtless,  is  laid  under  the  most  sacred  obliga¬ 
tions  to  feel  concerned  for  his  own  moral  improvement 
and  happiness,  and.  to  use  all  proper  means  to  secure 
and  promote  them.  These  are  duties  which  he  owes  to 
himself,  and  the  violation  of  which  is  peculiarly  criminal 


134  DUTY  OF  INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION. 

in  him,  since  he  thus  so  far  frustrates  the  glorious  design 
of  his  being,  by  rendering  himself  unfit  for  discharging 
his  obligations  either  to  God  or  to  man. 

The  obligations  which  more  immediately  terminate  on 
himself,  and  which  may  therefore  be  styled  the  duties  ho 
owes  himself,  may  be  classed  under  the  heads  of  intel¬ 
lectual  cultivation  and  control  ;  moral  progress  and 
reformation;  temperance  or  self-government,  and  con¬ 
tentment  ;  fortitude ;  the  formation  of  good  habits  ; 
prudence,  or  a  suitable  regard  to  his  own  happiness. 
The  duty  of  contentment,  and  the  evils  opposed  to  it, 
are  exhibited  under  the  head  of  the  Tenth  Command¬ 
ment  :  the  other  duties  will  now  be  considered  in  the 
order  just  stated. 


CHAPTER  L 

DUTY  OF  INTELLECTUAL  CULTIVATION  AND  CONTROL. 

308.  The  intellectual  powers,  in  proportion  as  they 
are  improved,  are  ornamental  to  our  nature,  and  qualify 
us  for  being  serviceable  to  ourselves,  our  friends,  the 
community,  and  mankind.  We  should  therefore  be  con¬ 
tinually  solicitous  to  acquire  knowledge,  strengthen  our 
memory,  rectify  our  judgment,  and  refine  our  ta.ste :  by 
reading  good  books,  and  those  only;  by  accurately  ob¬ 
serving  what  passes  in  the  world  around  us  ;  by  studying 
the  works  of  nature,  and  elegant  performances  of  art ; 
by  meditating  on  the  real  nature  of  things,  and  the  causes 
and  consequences  of  human  conduct,  as  they  occur  in 
history  and  common  life ;  by  avoiding  frivolous  pursuits, 
trifling  discourse,  and  unprofitable  theory ;  and  by  losing 
no  opportunity  of  profiting  by  the  conversation  and  ex¬ 
ample  of  wise  and  good  men. 

To  neglect  the  acquisition  of  wisdom,  when  the  means 
of  it  are  in  our  power,  is  always  followed  by  a  bitter,  and 
generally  unavailing,  repentance. 

309.  The  regulation  of  our  trains  of  thought  will  be 
seen  to  be  our  duty,  when  we  reflect  that  the  thoughts 
are  the  prime  movers  of  the  whole  human  conduct.  All 
that  makes  a  figure  on  the  great  theater  of  the  world,  the 
employments  of  the  busy,  the  enterprises  of  the  am¬ 
bitious,  and  the  exploits  of  the  warlike,  the  virtues  which 


CONTROL  OF  OUR  TRAINS  OF  THOUGHT. 


135 


form  the  happiness,  and  the  crimes  which  occasion  the 
misery  of  mankind,  originate  in  that  silent  and  secret 
recess  of  thought  which  is  hidden  from  every  human 
eye. 

310.  Too  many  suppose  that  thought  may  lawfully  be 
unrestrained.  Passions,  they  may  perhaps  admit,  require 
government  and  restraint,  because  they  are  violent  emo¬ 
tions  and  disturb  society.  But  with  their  thoughts,  they 
plead,  no  one  is  concerned.  By  these,  so  long  as  they 
are  not  disclosed,  no  offense  can  be  given,  and  no  injury 
committed.  To  enjoy,  unrestrained,  the  full  range  of  ima¬ 
gination,  appears  to  them  the  native  right  and  privilege 
of  man. 

311.  Had  we  to  do  with  none  but  our  fellow-creatures, 
such  a  sentiment  might  be  specious ;  but  in  the  sight  of 
the  Supreme  Being,  thoughts  often  bear  the  character  of 
good  or  evil,  as  much  as  actions,  and  they  are  especially 
the  subjects  of  divine  jurisdiction,  because  they  are  cog¬ 
nizable  at  no  other  tribunal. 

Again,  the  regulation  of  our  thoughts  is  of  prime  con¬ 
sequence  from  their  direct  influence  on  conduct.  Actions 
are,  in  truth,  thoughts  ripened  into  consistency  and  sub¬ 
stance. 

312.  Our  thoughts  are  not  always  the  offspring  of 
choice ;  often  they  are  inevitably  impressed  upon  the 
mind  by  surrounding  objects.  Often  they  start  up,  as  of 
themselves,  without  any  principle  of  introduction  which 
we  are  able  to  trace.  But  after  an  allowance  is  made 
for  thought  arising  under  such  circumstances,  a  multi¬ 
tude  of  cases  occur,  in  which  we  are  no  less  accountable 
for  what  we  think  than  for  what  we  do. 

As,  Jirst,  when  the  introduction  of  any  train  of  thought 
depends  upon  ourselves,  and  is  our  voluntary  act ;  by 
turning  our  attention  toward  such  objects,  awakening 
such  passions,  or  engaging  in  such  employments,  as 
we  know  must  give  a  peculiar  determination  to  our 
thoughts. 

JV'ext,  when  thoughts,  by  whatever  accident  they  may 
have  been  originally  suggested,  are  indulged  with  de¬ 
liberation  and  complacency.  Though  the  mind  has  been 
passive  in  their  reception,  and  therefore  fi’ee  from  blame, 
yet,  if  it  be  active  in  their  continuance,  the  guilt  becomes 
its  own.  They  may  have  intruded  at  first,  like  unbidden 


136 


RULES  FOR  CONTROL  OF  THOUGHT. 


guests ;  but  if,  when  entered,  they  are  made  welcome, 
and  kindly  entertained,  the  case  is  the  same  as  if  they 
had  been  invited  from  the  beginning. 

Thirdly,  we  are  accountable  for  those  thoughts  also, 
which  find  admittance  into  our  minds  from  negligence, 
from  total  relaxation  of  attention,  from  allowing  our 
imagination  to  rove  with  entire  license.  The  conse¬ 
quences  of  this  practice  must  all  be  charged  to  our 
account. 

313.  We  are  to  aim,  in  governing  our  thoughts,  to 
take  the  most  effectual  measures  to  prevent  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  such  as  are  useless  or  sinful,  and  for  hasten¬ 
ing  their  expulsion  if  they  shall  have  introduced  them¬ 
selves  without  consent  of  the  will.  In  no  article  of 
religion  or  morals  are  men  more  culpably  remiss,  than 
in  the  unrestrained  indulgence  they  give  to  fancy  ;  and 
that,  too,  for  the  most  part,  without  remorse.  Of  the 
innumerable  hours  that  have  been  employed  in  thought, 
how  few  are  marked  with  any  permanent  or  useful 
effect !  How  many  have  either  passed  away  in  idle 
dreams  and  frivolous  fancies,  or  have  been  abandoned  to 
anxious,  discontented  m usings,  or  to  thoughts  which  have 
excited  irregular  and  criminal  desires  !  How  much 
time  has  been  criminally  wasted  in  forming  chimerical 
plans  of  what  we  could  wish  to  attain  or  choose  to  be, 
if  we  could  frame  the  course  of  things  according  to  our 
desire  ! 


Rules  for  the  Government  of  our  Thoughts. 

314.  (1.)  Study  to  acquire  the  habit  of  attention  to 
thought.  It  is  the  power  of  attention  which,  in  a  great 
measure,  distinguishes  the  wise  and  the  great  from  the 
vulgar  and  trifling  herd  of  men.  Acquire  the  power  of 
fixing  your  thoughts  upon  useful  and  proper  objects. 
Let  your  thoughts  also  be  made  the  subject  of  thought 
and  review.  Accustom  yourself  to  make  such  inquiries 
as  these  :  “  Shall  I  be  the  wiser  or  better  for  dwelling  on 
such  thoughts  as  now  fill  my  mind  1  Are  they  entirely 
consistent  with  my  innocence,  and  with  my  present  and 
future  peace  1” 

(2.)  To  govern  well  our  thoughts,  it  is  necessary  to 
guard  against  idleness,  which  is  the  parent  of  frivo*lou3 
thoughts,  of  loose  imaginations,  and  inordinate  desires. 


RULES  FOR  GOVERNING  THOUGHT. 


137 


The  ever  active  and  restless  power  of  thought,  if  not 
employed  about  what  is  good,  naturally  and  unavoidably 
engenders  evil. 

As,  therefore,  you  would  govern  your  thoughts,  or,  in¬ 
deed,  as  you  would  have  any  thoughts  that  are  worthy  of 
being  governed,  provide  honorable  employment  for  the 
activity  of  your  mind.  Keep  knowledge,  virtue,  and  use¬ 
fulness  ever  in  view.  Let  your  life  proceed  in  a  train 
of  such  pursuits  as  are  worthy  of  a  rational,  moral,  and 
social  being. 

(3.)  When  criminal  thoughts  arise,  call  in  other  ideas 
to  your  aid ;  or  resort  to  some  other  pursuit  than  that 
which  now  engages  your  attention,  and  thus  direct  your 
mind  from  thoughts  of  an  improper  character. 

(4.)  Impress  the  mind  with  an  habitual  sense  of  the 
omnipresence  and  omniscience  of  God.  We  are  never 
less  alone  than  when  by  ourselves ;  for  then  He  is  still 
with  us  whose  inspection  is  of  greater  consequence  than 
that  of  all  mankind.  [Beattie  ;  Dr.  Blair.] 

308.  What  may  be  said  in  favor  of  the  cultivation  of  our  intellectual 
powers  as  a  duty;  and  what  of  the  manner  in  which  it  may  be  pursued  ? 

309.  How  does  the  regulation  of  our  trains  of  thought  appear  to  be  a 
duty? 

310.  What  error  must  here  be  noticed  ? 

311.  How  may  the  erroneousness  of  this  sentiment  be  shown? 

312.  How  far  is  thought  under  our  control,  and  for  how  much  of  it  are 
we  accountable  ? 

313.  What  then  is  the  great  object  at  which  we  are  to  aim  in  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  our  thoughts? 

314.  What  rules  maybe  useful  for  the  government  of  our  thoughts? 


CHAPTER  H. 

DUTY  OF  MORAL  PROGRESS,  AND  REFORMATION. 

315.  Moral  and  intellectual  progress  is  the  greatest 
good  which  we  can  desire  for  ourselves ;  and,  of  course, 
for  others  also.  Hence  wisdom  and  benevolence  demand 
of  us  that  we  aim  constantly  at  the  moral  and  intellectual 
progress  of  ourselves,  and  of  the  rest  of  mankind.  So  long 
as  we  live,  we  shall  have  room  to  make  ourselves  wiser 
and  better. 


138  DUTY  OF  MORAL  PROGRESS,  AND  REFORMATION. 

316.  All  acts  of  duty,  and  all  affections  which  lead  to 
acts  of  duty,  tend  to  promote  our  moral  culture. 

On  the  other  hand,  all  transgressions  of  duty  arrest  our 
moral  progress,  and  are  steps  in  a  retrograde  course. 

317.  It  is  the  moral  business  of  every  person  to  resist 
temptation. 

The  reason  and  the  moral  faculty  must  be  employed  in 
controlling  the  desires  and  affections  when  they  impel  us 
in  an  immoral  direction.  All  the  results  of  our  moral 
culture  must  be  called  to  our  aid  for  this  purpose. 

318.  The  universal  voice  of  mankind  declares  some 
offenses  to  be  greater,  some  to  be  less ;  yet  no  transgres¬ 
sion  can  be  said  to  be  so  much  better  than  another  as  not 
to  be  utterly  bad,  nor  to  be  slight,  since  the  slightest  in¬ 
terrupts  our  moral  progress. 

Those  offenses  are  to  be  deemed  most  grievous,  which 
are  most  pernicious  in  their  effect  upon  our  moral  cul¬ 
ture. 

319.  The  mode  in  which  the  poison  of  immoral  pur¬ 
poses,  desires,  and  affections  was  taken  into  our  being, 
was,  by  their  being  our  purposes,  oxir  desires,  our  affec¬ 
tions.  In  order  to  expel  their  effect,  they  must  be  repu¬ 
diated,  so  that  they  shall  no  longer  belong  to  us.  They 
must  be  changed  into  their  reverse  :  desire,  into  aver¬ 
sion  ;  love,  into  hate  ;  the  purpose  to  do,  into  the  purpose 
to  undo ;  joy  in  what  was  done,  to  sorrow  that  it  was 
done. 

This  change  must  be  carried,  by  an  effort  of  thought, 
into  the  past.  We  must  recall  in  our  memory  the  past 
act  of  transgi-ession,  condemning,  as  we  do  so,  the  mo¬ 
tives  by  which  we  were  misled,  and  the  purpose  which 
we  formed.  This  change,  this  sorrow,  this  renunciation 
and  condemnation  of  our  past  act,  is  repentance. 

320.  Repentance  is  not  a  sufficient  remedy  for  the  mis¬ 
chief  of  transgression  ;  but  there  can  be  no  remedy  of  the 
evil  without  this.  The  transgressor  must,  at  least,  repent, 
in  order  to  cast  out  of  his  being  the  poison  of  immoral 
act  or  purpose. 

321.  Beside  the  exercise  of  the  repentance  now  de¬ 
scribed,  we  must  reform  our  lives.  Amendment,  as  well 
as  repentance,  is  the  necessary  sequel  of  transgression,  in 
virtue  of  that  duty  of  moral  progress  which  is  constantly 
incumbent  upon  all  men. 


IMMEDIATE  REFORMATION. 


139 


322.  In  addition  to  what  reason  teaches  upon  this  sub¬ 
ject,  we  need  the  teachings  of  religion. 

The  moralist  very  properly  teaches,  that,  after  trans¬ 
gression,  repentance  and  amendment  are  necessary  steps 
in  our  moral  culture.  But  the  moralist  cannot  pronounce 
how  far  these  steps  can  avail  as  a  remedy  for  the  evil ; 
how  far  they  can  avert  the  consequences  of  sin  from  man’s 
condition  and  destination. 

These  are  points  on  which  the  moralist  necessarily 
looks  to  reliffion  for  her  teachinof. 

323.  Amendment  is  required  by  morality  to  be  imme¬ 
diate. 

If  a  man  repents  in  the  middle  of  an  immoral  act,  he 
will  not  go  on  with  the  act.  As  soon  as  the  authority  of 
morality  is  acknowledged,  the  moral  course  of  action 
must  begin ;  and  not  at  some  later  period,  when  pending 
acts  have  been  completed.  Duty  is  the  pei'petual  right¬ 
ful  governor  of  every  man ;  and  the  man  who  merely 
promises  to  obey  this  governor  at  some  future  time,  is 
really  disobedient.  The  man  who  completes  an  immoral 
act,  knowing  it  to  be  immoral,  commits  a  new  offense. 
He  yielded  to  temptation  in  the  first  part  of  the  act ;  he 
sins  against  conviction  in  the  second. 

This  remark  may  be  of  use  when  we  come  to  consider 
some  cases  of  duty.  For  instance,  if  I  have  made  an  im¬ 
moral  promise,  and  see  my  fault,  it  is  my  duty  not  to 
complete  the  act  by  performing  the  promise. 

324.  Every  means  of  improving  our  moral  nature,  it 
behooves  us  to  employ.  That  is  the  business  for  which 
we  are  continued  in  the  world,  and  on  which  our  happi¬ 
ness,  forever,  will  depend. 

325.  As  means  of  such  improvement,  we  ought  con¬ 
stantly  to  be  attentive  to  our  conduct ;  not  to  our  actions 
only,  but  also  to  our  thoughts,  passions,  and  purposes ; 
to  reflect  upon  them  daily,  with  a  fixed  resolution  to  re¬ 
form  what  has  been  amiss;  and  carefully  to  avoid  temp¬ 
tation  and  bad  company. 

326.  Of  had  company,  the  fascinations,  if  we  give  way 
to  them  ever  so  little,  are  so  powerful,  and  assault  our 
frail  nature  from  so  many  quarters  at  once,  that  it  is  hardly 
possible  to  escape  their  influence  ;  our  minds  must  be  con¬ 
taminated  by  them,  even  though  there  should  be  no  ap¬ 
parent  impurity  in  our  outward  behavior.  F or,  from  our 


140 


DUTY  OF  CONTINUAL  IMPROVEMENT. 


pi'oneness  to  imitation,  we  come  to  act,  and  even  to  think 
like  those  with  whom  we  live,  especially  if  we  have  any 
affection  for  them  :  and  bad  men  have  often  agreeable 
qualities,  which  may  make  us  contract  such  a  liking  to 
them,  as  shall  incline  us  to  be  partial  even  to  the  excep¬ 
tionable  parts  of  their  character. 

Moreover,  the  fear  of  giving  offense,  or  of  hieing  ridi¬ 
culed  for  singularity  ;  the  sophistries  by  which  wicked 
men  endeavor  to  vindicate  their  conduct ;  and  the  habit 
of  seeing  or  hearing  vice  encouraged,  or  virtue  disregard¬ 
ed  ;  all  conspire,  by  lessening  our  abhorrence  of  the  one, 
and  our  reverence  for  the  other,  to  seduce  into  criminal 
practice  and  licentious  principle.  « 

327.  It  should  ever  be  borne  in  mind  that  we  have 
commenced  a  career  of  existence  that  shall  never  end. 
Every  step  we  take  in  life  is  to  have  an  influence  on  those 
that  follow.  We  should  therefore  be  careful,  never  by 
our  present  conduct  to  injure  our  future  interests.  During 
the  whole  of  life  we  should  be  employed  in  the  diligent 
prosecution  of  that  system  of  education  which  is  requisite 
to  qualify  us  for  the  duties  and  enjoyments  of  a  higher 
state  of  existence.  The  wisest  and  the  best  have  cause 
for  persevering  exertion,  and  room  for  growing  improve¬ 
ment.  [Whewell ;  Fergus  ;  Beattie.] 


315.  What  is  the  highest  good  to  which  we  can  direct  our  aim? 

316.  How  is  the  moral  life  nourished  or  impaired? 

317.  What  moral  business  has  each  individual  to  perform  ? 

318.  According  to  what  measure  and  standard  do  moral  transgressions 
become  greater  and  graver? 

319.  When  transgression  has  been  committed,  how  is  rectitude  to  be 
restored  ?  When  the  poison  of  an  immoral  act  has  been  taken  into  our 
being,  how  is  it  to  be  ejected,  and  the  powers  of  life  restored  to  their 
healthful  action  ? 

320.  Is  the  repentance  thus  described,  a  sufficient  remedy  for  the  mis¬ 
chief  of  transgression  ? 

321.  What,  beside  the  repentance  thus  described,  is  necessary? 

322.  Do  we  need  no  further  teachings  on  this  subject  than  reason  thus 
communicates? 

323.  How  soon,  after  transgression,  does  amendment  become  a  duty? 

324.  Why  should  every  means  of  improving  our  moral  nature  be  em¬ 
ployed  ? 

325  What  should  we  employ  as  means  of  such  improvement? 

326.  Why  is  it  especially  necessary  to  avoid  bad  company? 

327.  Is  it  proper  to  be  contented  with  any  attainments  we  may  have 
already  made  in  virtue,  or  to  forget  the  claims  of  our  future  being? 


SELF-GOVERNMENT. 


141 


CHAPTER  III. 

TEMPERANCE,  OR  SELF-GOVERNMENT.  ? 

This  duty  is  strongly  recommended  by  the  light  of 
nature ;  and  revelation  enforces  it  by  the  weight  of  its 
high  authority :  “  Let  your  moderation  be  known  unto 
all  men;”  “Live  soberly.” 

328.  This  moderation  is  to  be  used  in  reference  to 
bodily  enjoyments ;  to  sorrow  for  the  loss  of  our  friends 
or  of  property ;  and  to  the  indulgence  of  the  desires  and 
affections  of  the  mind. 

(1.)  We  are  to  exercise  temper aTice  in  our  bodily  grati¬ 
fications.  Much  of  what  we  owe  to  ourselves  as  rational 
and  accountable  beings  is  included  in  this  view  of  moder¬ 
ation.  There  is  no  part  of  our  duty  which  requires  more 
continued  self-denial  in  its  practice.  This  subject  has 
been  treated  with  sufficient  fullness  in  Book  II.  chap.  IV. 
sect.  III.,  on  the  government  of  the  appetites  and  pas¬ 
sions.  That  section  it  may  be  profitable  to  review  in  this 
connection. 

(2.)  Temperance,  or  self-government,  implies  modera¬ 
tion  in  the  indulgence  of  sorrow  on  account  of  the  loss  of 
friends  or  of  property.  Reason,*  indeed,  suggests  this. 
No  extreme  of  soitow  can  be  of  avail  in  restoring  to  us 
the  blessings  of  which,  by  the  providence  of  God  we  are 
deprived ;  and  it  becomes  us,  even  on  this  gi'ound,  to  re¬ 
strain  those  painful  emotions  which  bereavements  natu¬ 
rally  awaken.  But  Christianity  enforces  this  duty  on 
higher  grounds,  and  by  the  most  persuasive  and  power¬ 
ful  motives  and  examples. 

(3.)  In  self-government,  is  included  moderation  in  in¬ 
dulging  the  desires  of  the  mind.  In  the  proper  regulation 
of  these  desires  consists  a  large  part  of  true  morality  ; 
also,  in  seeking  their  gratification  only  in  subordination 
to  the  divine  authority,  and  to  the  higher  ends  of  our 
being.  According  to  the  affections  and  desires  habitu¬ 
ally  entertained  in  the  heart,  will  be  the  tenor  of  the  con¬ 
duct  ;  and  no  reformation,  therefore,  can  be  effectual, 


142 


FORTITUDE. - GOOD  HABITS. 


which  aims  not  at  the  thorough  melioration  of  the  inward, 
as  well  as  the  outward  man.  See  Book  II.  chap.  V. 

[Dewar,  vol.  ii.  pp.  471,  472.] 

328.  In  regard  to  what  objects  is  moderation  to  be  exercised  ? 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FORTITUDE. 

329.  Fortitude  is  that  virtue,  in  the  exercise  of  which 
we  are  enabled  to  conduct  ourselves  with  propriety  in 
regard  to  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  life  ;  so  as  neither 
to  betray  ourselves  by  unreasonable  fear,  nor  rashly  to 
put  ourselves  in  the  way  of  evil. 

It  is  by  fortitude  that  we  can  guard  from  injury  those 
rights  which  the  Creator  has  given  us,  and  prepare  to 
meet  the  evils  which  threaten  us  from  a  distance.  It  is 
the  same  virtue  which  keeps  the  mind  from  sinking  under 
present  and  unavoidable  calamities,  and  animates  it  to 
endure,  with  patience  and  resignation  to  the  will  of  God, 
what  it  can  neither  control  nor  remove.  It  is  clearly  con¬ 
nected  with  self-control,  without  a  considerable  share  of 
which,  none  can  be  eminently  good  or  great. 

[Dewar,  vol.  ii.  pp.  497,  498.] 

329.  What  virtue  under  the  name  of  fortitude  is  it  our  duty  to  cultivate 
and  exercise  ? 


CHAPTER  V. 

ON  THE  FORMATION  OF  GOOD  HABITS. 

330.  The  obligation  to  form  good  habits  arises  from  the 
fact  that  man  has  been  made  capable  of  forming  habits, 
and  is  very  much  the  creature  of  habit,  and  hence  it  is  of 
great  importance  that  this  law  of  his  nature  should  be 
turned  to  a  good  account. 

331.  The  end  of  education  should  be,  not  merely  the 
communication  of  knowledge — this  is  but  one  of  its  ad¬ 
vantages — but  the  training  of  the  mind,  the  calling  forth 


REGARD  TO  OUR  OWN  HAPPINESS. 


143 


of  good  dispositions,  and  the  suppression  of  the  bad,  and 
the  formation  of  those  habits  that  will  prepare  for  the  suc¬ 
cessful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  life. 

It  will  not  be  attempted  to  enumerate  here  the  differ¬ 
ent  habits,  to  the  formation  of  which  we  should  give  our 
attention.  The  subject  will  be  introduced  again  in  the 
next  chapter,  and  has  been  considered  in  Book  II.  chap. 
II.  sect.  III. 

332.  Industry  is  specially  important.  This  is  of  the 
greatest  value  to  man  in  regard  to  everything  that  tends  to 
elevate  him  in  goodness,  in  greatness,  or  in  happiness. 

*  *  ■*■  ‘‘  All  is  the  gift  of  industry : 

Whate’er  exalts,  embellishes,  and  renders  life  delightful.” 

[Dewar,  vol.  ii.  p.  500.] 


330.  Whence  arises  to  man  the  obligation  to  form  good  habits  ? 

331.  What  then  should  be  the  principal  object  of  education? 

332.  But  what  habit  is  there  which  deserves  special  notice,  from  its 
direct  influence  on  our  religious  and  moral  improvement,  on  the  equability 
of  our  temper,  and  on  the  permanence  of  our  happiness  ? 


CHAPTER  VI. 

PRUDENCE,  OR  A  SUITABLE  REGARD  TO  OUR  OWN 
HAPPINESS. 

SECTION  I.  — NATURE  OF  THE  DUTY,  AND  THE  MANNER  OP 
PERFORMING  IT. 

333.  The  virtue  of  prudence  implies  a  steady  regard, 
in  the  conduct  of  life,  to  the  happiness  and  perfection  of 
our  own  nature,  and  a  diligent  study  of  the  means  by 
which  these  ends  may  be  attained. 

334.  It  is  merely  a  constitutional  principle,  and  insep¬ 
arable  from  the  nature  of  man  as  a  rational  and  sensitive 
being.  Its  moral  character  depends  on  the  direction  it  is 
allowed  to  take,  and  its  deference  to  higher  principles 
and  rules  of  action. 

It  is  regarded  by  all  men  as  a  duty  to  promote  their 
own  happiness,  and  we  censure  those  who  neglect  to  do 
this.  The  sanctions  of  law,  both  human  and  divine,  im¬ 
ply  an  obligation  to  regard  our  own  happiness.  This 


144 


THE  SOVEREIGN  GOOD. 


duty  is  implied  in  the  fundamental  law  of  morality,  “  Thou 
shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself”  It  is  therefore  our 
duty  to  promote  our  own  happiness  no  less  than  that  of 
our  neighbor.  It  is  also  an  inspired  injunction,  “  Do 
thyself  no  harai.”  It  must  also  be  considered  right  to  ex¬ 
ercise  any  of  our  constitutional  principles,  under  certain 
restrictions. 

335.  If  we  could  at  once  gratify  all  the  propensities  of 
our  nature,  that  would  be  our  highest  possible  happiness, 
and  what  we  might  call  our  sovereign  good  ;  but  that 
cannot  be  ;  for  our  own  propensities  and  desires  are 
often  inconsistent,  so  that  if  we  comply  with  one,  we  must 
contradict  another.  He  who  is  enslaved  to  sensuality, 
cannot  at  the  same  time  enjoy  the  more  lofty  pleasures 
of  science  and  virtue  ;  and  he  who  devotes  himself  to 
science  or  adheres  to  virtue,  must  often  act  in  opposition 
to  his  inferior  appetites.  The  ambitious  man  cannot  la¬ 
bor  for  the  acquisition  of  power,  and  taste  the  sweets  of 
indolence  at  the  same  time.  The  miser,  while  he  in¬ 
dulges  himself  in  the  contemplation  of  his  wealth,  must 
be  a  stranger  to  the  pleasures  of  beneficence.  The  grati¬ 
fication  of  all  our  appetites  and  desires  at  once  is,  there¬ 
fore,  impossible. 

336.  Since  all  the  desires  and  appetites  of  our  nature 
cannot  be  gratified  at  once,  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  form 
to  ourselves  or  to  adopt  some  plan  or  system  of  conduct, 
in  subordination  to  which  all  other  objects  are  to  be  se¬ 
cured.  To  ascertain  what  this  system  ought  to  be,  is  a 
problem  which  in  all  ages  employed  the  speculations  of 
philosophers.  Among  the  ancients,  the  question  concern¬ 
ing  the  sovereign  good  was  the  principal  subject  of  con¬ 
troversy  which  divided  the  schools  ;  and  it  was  treated  in 
such  a  manner  as  to  involve  almost  every  other  question 
of  ethics. 

•  It  is  obvious,  from  what  has  been  said  above,  that 
some  degree  of  self-denial  must  be  practiced  by  every 
man,  whether  good  or  bad — by  the  ruffian  as  well  as  the 
saint ;  and  man’s  greatest  possible  happiness  must  be,  at 
least  in  the  present  state,  not  a  complete  gratification  of 
all  our  propensities,  but  the  most  comprehensive  gratifi¬ 
cation  of  which  we  are  capable. 


EPICUREAN  SYSTEM. 


145 


333.  What  is  implied  in  the  duty  of  prudence  ? 

33t,  Has  the  desire  of  happiness  (the  principle  of  self-love)  any  moral 
character :  is  it  an  object  either  of  approbation  or  of  blame  ? 

335.  Is  happiness  to  be  attained  by  giving  every  appetite  and  desire  the 
gratiScation  they  demand  ? 

336.  Since  all  the  appetites  and  desires  of  our  nature  cannot  be  gratified 
at  once,  how  is  the  largest  amount  of  happiness  to  be  secured  ? 

SECTION  II.  — SYSTEMS  OF  THE  GRECIAN  SCHOOLS,  IN  RELATION 

TO  HAPPINESS. 

337.  The  opinions  entertained  by  the  ancients  respect¬ 
ing  the  sovereign,  or  supreme  good,  may  all  be  reduced 
to  three  :  those  of  the  Epicureans,  of  the  Stoics,  and  of 
the  Peripatetics.  To  one  or  other  of  these  three  opin¬ 
ions  may  be  referred  all  merely  human  schemes  of  hap¬ 
piness. 

338.  The  fundamental  principle  of  the  Epicurean  system 
was,  that  bodily  pleasure  and  pain  were  the  sole  ultimate 
objects  of  desire  and  aversion.  These  were  desired  and 
shunned  on  their  own  account;  other  things  were  desired 
and  valued  according  to  their  tendency  to  procure  the 
one  of  these,  or  to  save  us  from  the  other.  This  system 
placed  happiness  in  ease  of  body  and  tranquillity  of  mind, 
but  much  more  in  the  latter  than  in  the  former,  insomuch 
that  Epicurus  affirmed  a  wise  man  might  be  happy  in  the 
midst  of  bodily  torments.  It  is  a  system  which  tends 
avowedly  to  recommend  a  life  of  indolent  and  selfish  in- 
duffience,  and  a  total  abstraction  from  the  concerns  and 
duties  of  the  world.  Hence  many  of  the  disciples  of 
Epicurus  brought  so  much  discredit  on  their  principles 
by  the  dissoluteness  of  their  lives,  that  the  word  Ejncu- 
rean  came  gradually  to  be  understood  as  cbaracteristical 
of  a  person  devoted  to  sensual  gratifications. 

The  influence  of  these  principles  on  the  manners  of 
the  later  Romans  has  been  remarked  by  many  writers, 
and  was  foreseen,  ages  before,  by  their  virtuous  and  en¬ 
lightened  ancestors.  This  fact,  which  has  not  been  suf¬ 
ficiently  attended  to,  deserves  the  serious  consideration 
of  those  who  call  in  question  the  effect  of  speculative 
opinions  on  national  character. 

[D.  Stewart’s  Works,  vol.  v.  pp.  494,  495.] 

339.  In  opposition  to  the  Epicurean  doctrine  already 
stated,  the  Stoical  system  placed  the  supreme  good  in 
rectitude  of  conduct,  without  any  regard  to  the  event. 
It  did  not,  however,  as  has  been  supposed,  recommend 

G 


146 


STOICAL  AND  PERIPATETIC  SYSTEMS. 


an  indifference  to  external  objects,  nor  a  life  of  inac¬ 
tivity  and  apathy.  On  the  contrary,  it  taught  that  na¬ 
ture  pointed  out  to  us  certain  objects  of  choice  and  of 
rejection,  and  among  these  some  to  be  more  chosen  and 
avoided  than  others  ;  and  that  virtue  consisted  in  choosing 
and  rejecting  objects  according  to  their  intrinsic  value. 

The  Stoical  system,  so  far  from  withdrawing  men  from 
the  duties  of  life,  was  eminently  favorable  to  social  and 
active  virtue.  Its  peculiar  and  distinguishirig  tenet  was, 
that  our  happiness  did  not  depend  on  the  attainment  of 
the  objects  of  our  choice,  but  on  the  part  that  we  acted  ; 
but  this  principle  was  inculcated  not  to  damp  our  exer¬ 
tions,  but  to  lead  us  to  rest  our  happiness  only  on  cir¬ 
cumstances  which  we  ourselves  could  command.  Their 
system  inculcated  that  prudence  and  propriety  should  be 
consulted  and  followed,  and  then  we  should  give  ourselves 
no  trouble  about  the  consequences,  but  be  satisfied  with 
any  that  might  ensue,  and  submit  to  the  will  of  the  higher 
powers.  They  believed  that  whatever  happens  is  calcu¬ 
lated  to  produce  the  highest  good  of  the  universe. 

340.  The  Epicurean  system  was  one  of  selfishness  and 
prudent  indulgence,  which  placed  happiness  in  a  seclu¬ 
sion  from  care,  and  in  an  indifference  to  all  the  concerns 
of  mankind.  By  the  Stoics,  on  the  contrary,  virtue  was 
supposed  to  consist  in  the  affectionate  performance  of 
any  good  office  toward  their  fellow-creatures,  and  in  full 
resignation  to  Providence  for  everything  independent  of 
their  own  choice. 

341.  The  Peripatetic  system  maintained  that  it  was  not 
the  mere  possession,  but  the  exercise  of  virtue  that  made 
men  happy ;  and  for  the  proper  exercise  of  virtue  they 
thought  that  prosperity  was  as  necessary  as  light  is  for 
the  exercise  of  the  faculty  of  sight. 

All  these  three  sects  acknowledged  the  necessity  of 
virtue,  or  allowed  that,  in  every  well-directed  pursuit  of 
happiness,  the  strictest  regard  to  morality  was  required. 
The  Stoics  alone  maintained  that  this  regard  itself  was 
happiness ;  or  that  to  run  the  course  of  an  active,  strenu¬ 
ous,  wise,  and  beneficent  mind,  was  itself  the  very  good 
which  we  ought  to  pursue. 

It  is  obvious  also,  from  the  opinions  now  reviewed, 
that  happiness  arises  chiefly  from  the  mind,  and  not  from 
the  external  circumstances  of  man. 


INFLUENCE  OF  TEMPER  ON  HAPPINESS. 


147 


337.  What  opinions  were  entertained  by  the  ancients  respecting  the 
sovereign  or  supreme  good  ? 

338.  What  was  the  lundarnental  principle  of  the  Epicurean  system? 

339.  What  was  the  opinion  of  the  Stoics  ? 

340.  How  may  the  Epicurean  and  Stoical  systems  be  compared? 

341.  What  was  the  doctrine  of  the  Peripatetics? 

SECTION  III.— INFLUENCE  OF  TEMPER  UPON  OUR  HAPPINESS. 

342.  Our  happiness  is  influenced  by  our  temper,  ima¬ 
gination,  opinions,  and  habits, 

343.  The  word  temper  is  here  used  to  denote  the  ha¬ 
bitual  state  of  a  man’s  mind  in  point  of  irascibility,  or,  in 
other  words,  to  mark  the  habitual  predominance  of  the 
benevolent  or  malevolent  affections  in  his  intercourse 
with  his  fellow-creatures. 

There  is  a  secret  charm  annexed  by  the  Creator  to 
every  exercise  of  good-will  and  of  kindness;  while  He 
has  imposed  a  check  on  all  the  discordant  passions,  by 
connecting  with  them  agitation  and  disquietude.  Hence 
our  happiness  must  very  much  depend  on  which  of  these 
kinds  of  affection  we  most  indulge. 

There  is  nothing  in  which  our  temporal  happiness  is 
so  much  in  our  power  as  in  the  formation  of  temper,  and 
nothing  will  more  conduce  to  our  future  welfare  than 
wise  exertions  on  this  point. 

A  proud,  irritable,  discontented,  and  quarrelsome  per¬ 
son  can  never  be  happy.  He  has  within  himself,  and  he 
employs,  sure  means  to  imbitter  life,  whatever  may  be 
his  external  circumstances. 

344.  Some  persons  render  themselves  wretched  by 
dwelling  too  much  on  the  follies  and  vices  of  the  age;  by 
censorious  thoughts  and  feelings  in  respect  to  others  ;  by 
a  jealous  and  suspicious  examination  of  the  motives  which 
influence  the  conduct  of  their  neighbors.  That  favorable 
opinions  of  our  species,  and  those  benevolent  affections 
toward  them  which  such  opinions  produce,  are  sources 
of  exquisite  enjoyment  to  those  who  entertain  them,  can¬ 
not  be  disputed.  While  we  do  what  we  can  to  reform 
mankind,  our  chief  business  is  to  watch  over  our  own 
characters.  The  great  seci’et  of  present  happiness  is,  to 
study  to  accommodate  our  own  minds  to  things  external, 
rather  than  to  accommodate  things  external  to  ourselves, 
especially  in  our  intercourse  with  our  fellow-creatures. 
So  far  as  we  fail  in  our  endeavors  to  make  them  what 


148 


MEANS  OF  IMPROVING  TEMPER. 


they  should  be,  we  must  accommodate  our  views  and 
feelings  to  the  order  of  Providence.  It  is  of  great  impor¬ 
tance  also  that  we  do  not  imagine  mankind  worse  than 
they  really  are,  and  thereby  bring  upon  ourselves  a  tem¬ 
per  full  of  suspicion,  hatred,  anger,  and  contempt  toward 
others,  which  is  a  constant  state  of  misery,  much  worse 
than  all  the  evils  to  be  feared  from  credulity. 

345.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  error  to  imagine  that  tem¬ 
per  is  as  little  dependent  on  the  will  as  the  length  of  the 
arm  or  the  color  of  the  skin.  But  this  imagination  is  an 
unfounded  prejudice,  and  produces  the  most  unhappy 
effects.  Persons  first  permit  themselves  to  think  they 
can  do  nothing  in  the  formation  of  temper,  and  then  they 
attempt  nothing,  but  allow  it  to  grow  up  in  wild  luxu¬ 
riance.  Notwithstanding  all  that  may  be  said  about 
natural  constitution,  and  the  influence  of  organic  tenden¬ 
cies,  it  may  be  proved  that  we  can  subject  temper  to  the 
discipline  of  reason,  and  form  it  in  any  mold  according 
to  our  pleasure.  The  irascible  passions  appear  as  early, 
and  are  as  difficult  to  subjugate,  as  any  others;  but  we 
see  that  the  most  fretful  and  impatient  persons,  who  are 
perpetually  harassing  their  dependents  with  their  peevish¬ 
ness  and  their  intemperate  sallies,  are  able  to  restrain 
their  ebullitions  when  in  the  presence  of  a  superior,  or 
in  the  company  of  an  equal  who  would  chastise  them  for 
outrageous  conduct. 

Expedients  for  improving  our  Temper,  and  thus  promoting  our 

Happiness. 

346.  (!•)  We  should  cultivate  that  candor  with  respect 
to  the  motives  of  others  which  results  from  attending  to 
our  own  infirmities,  and  from  considering  the  numerous 
circumstances  which,  independently  of  criminal  inten¬ 
tion,  may  produce  the  appearance  of  vice  in  human  con¬ 
duct. 

(2.)  We  should  suppress,  as  far  as  possible,  the  exter¬ 
nal  signs  of  peevishness  or  of  violence.  It  is  said  of 
Socrates,  that,  whenever  he  felt  resentment  rising  in  his 
mind,  he  became  instantly  silent ;  and  by  observing  this 
practice,  he  doubtless  avoided  many  an  occasion  of  giving 
offense  to  others,  and  added  much  to  the  comfort  of  his 
own  life,  by  killing  the  seeds  of  those  malignant  affec¬ 
tions  which  are  the  great  bane  of  human  happiness. 


INFLUENCE  OF  IMAGINATION  ON  OUR  HAPPINESS.  149 


Next  to  silence,  “  a  soft  answer  turneth  away  wrath,”  not 
only  in  the  hearer,  but  in  the  speaker. 

347.  The  same  causes  which  alienate  our  affections 
from  our  fellow-creatures  are  apt  to  suggest  unfavorable 
views  of  the  coui’se  of  human  affairs,  and  lead  the  mind, 
by  an  easy  transition,  to  gloomy  conceptions  of  the  gen¬ 
eral  order  of  the  universe.  In  this  state  of  mind,  when, 
in  the  language  of  Hamlet,  man  delights  us  not,”  the 
sentiment  of  misanthropy  is  transferred  to  other  objects. 
“  This  goodly  frame,  the  earth,  appears  a  sterile  promon¬ 
tory  ;  this  majestical  roof,  fretted  with  golden  fires,  a  foul 
and  pestilential  congregation  of  vapors  ;  and  man  himself 
— noble  in  reason,  infinite  in  faculties — this  beauty  of  the 
world — this  paragon  of  animals,  seems  but  the  quintes¬ 
sence  of  dust.” 

It  is  important  here  to  add  the  caution,  however,  that 
we  must  not,  for  the  sake  of  our  own  quietude,  form  an 
erroneously  favorable  view  of  human  character  or  affairs, 
but  rather  cultivate  that  benevolence  of  heart  which  does 
not  rejoice  or  fret  at  the  iniquities  of  men,  but  seeks  to 
reform  men  for  their  good,  and  in  obedience  to  their 
Maker  and  Sovereign. 

342.  What  influences  upon  our  happiness  may  profitably  be  considered? 

343.  What  is  meant  by  temper,  and  what  is  its  influence? 

344.  By  what  process  is  the  temper  sometimes  impaired  and  made  a 
source  of  wretchedness? 

345.  What  important  error  is  entertained  by  some  concerning  temper, 
and  how  may  they  be  convinced  of  their  error  ? 

346.  What  expedients  may  be  adopted  for  improving  our  temper,  and 
thus  promoting  our  happiness? 

347.  What  other  circumstance  increases  the  influence  of  temper  on 
happiness  ? 

SECTION  IV.— INFLUENCE  OF  IMAGINATION  ON  OUR  HAPPINESS. 

348.  One  of  the  principal  effects  of  a  liberal  education 
is  to  accustom  us  to  withdraw  our  attention  from  the  ob¬ 
jects  of  our  present  perceptions,  and  to  dwell  at  pleasure 
on  the  past,  the  absent,  and  the  future.  How  much  it 
must  enlarge  in  this  way  the  sphere  of  our  enjoyment  or 
suffering  is  obvious ;  for  (not  to  mention  the  recollection 
of  the  past)  all  that  part  of  our  happiness  or  misery  which 
arises  from  our  hopes  or  owx  fears,  derives  its  existence 
entirely  fi'om  the  power  of  imagination.  This  faculty 
indeed,  though  strengthened  and  enlivened  by  education, 
is  sometimes  equally  vigorous  in  the  uneducated. 


150 


INFLUENCE  OF  IMAGINATION. 


When  the  hojjes  or  the  fears  which  imagination  in¬ 
spires  prevail  over  the  present  importunity  of  our  sensual 
appetites,  it  is  a  proof  of  the  superiority  which  the  intel¬ 
lectual  part  of  our  character  has  acquired  over  the  animal ; 
and  as  the  course  of  life  which  wisdom  and  virtue  pre¬ 
scribe  requires  frequently  a  sacrifice  of  the  j^i’csent  to  the 
future,  a  warm  and  vigorous  imagination  is  sometimes  of 
essential  use,  by  exhibiting  those  lively  prospects  of  solid 
and  permanent  happiness  which  may  counteract  the  al¬ 
lurements  of  present  pleasure. 

349.  Upon  persons  who  are  enslaved  by  their  sensual 
appetites,  a  warm  imagination  exerts  a  pernicious  influ¬ 
ence.  In  those  persons,  it  may  operate  in  anticipating 
future  gratification,  or  it  may  blend  itself  with  memory  in 
the  recollection  of  past  enjoyment ;  and  thus  unhappily  it 
contributes  to  strengthen  the  empire  of  animal  desires,  by 
filling  up  the  intervals  of  actual  indulgence  with  habits  of 
thought,  more  degrading  and  ruinous,  if  possible,  to  the 
rational  part  of  our  being,  than  the  time  which  is  employed 
in  criminal  gratification.  In  such  individuals,  imagina¬ 
tion  is  but  a  prolongation  of  sensual  indulgences,  and 
scarcely  merits  the  appellation  of  an  intellectual  power. 

Imagination  is  the  Paphian  shop, 

Where  feeble  happiness,  like  Vulcan,  lame. 

Bids  foul  ideas,  in  their  dark  recess. 

And  hot  as  hell  (which  kindled  the  black  fires) 

With  wanton  art,  those  fatal  arrows  form, 

Which  murder  all  thy  time,  health,  wealth,  and  fame. 

Wouldst  thou  receive  them  ?  other  thoughts  there  are. 

On  angel  wing,  descending  from  above. 

Which  these,  with  art  divine,  would  counterwork. 

And  form  celestial  armor  for  thy  peace. 

Young. 

The  influence  of  imagination  in  adding  to  our  enjoy¬ 
ments  or  sufferings  is  chiefly  seen  in  the  predominance 
of  hope  or  fear  in  the  habitual  state  of  our  minds.  One 
man  is  continually  led  by  the  complexion  of  his  temper, 
to  forebode  evil  to  himself  and  to  the  world  ;  while  an¬ 
other,  after  a  thousand  disappointments,  looks  forward  to 
the  future  with  exultation,  and  feels  his  confidence  in 
Providence  unshaken. 

Many  of  the  mortifications  and  disgusts  which  imbitter 
life,  proceed  not  from  any  positive  evils,  hunger  or  cold, 
pain  or  disease,  but  from  false  estimates,  fictitious  wants, 
and  imaginary  grievances. 


INFLUENCE  OP  OPINIONS  ON  HAPPINESS.  151 

350.  The  chief  sources  of  a  desponding  imagination  are 
superstition  and  skepticism.  Of  the  former,  the  unhappy- 
victims  are  many,  and  have  been  so  in  all  ages  of  the 
world,  although  their  number  may  be  expected  to  dimin¬ 
ish,  in  proportion  to  the  progress  and  diffusion  of  knowl¬ 
edge.  Skepticism,  when  extreme,  as  it  encourages  the 
notion  that  all  events  are  regulated  by  chance,  if  it  does 
not  alarm  the  mind,  extinguishes  at  least  every  ray  of 
hope. 

351.  This  faculty  requires  an  uncommon  share  of  good 
sense  to  keep  it  under  proper  regulation,  and  to  derive 
from  it  the  pleasures  it  was  intended  to  afford,  without 
suffering  it  either  to  mislead  the  judgment  in  the  conduct 
of  life,  or  to  impair  our  relish  for  the  moderate  gratifica¬ 
tions  which  are  provided  for  our  present  condition.  The 
inconveniences  resulting  from  an  ill-regulated  imagination 
are  fully  exhibited  by  Dugald  Stewart  in  his  Philosophy 
of  the  Mind,  vol.  i.  > 


348.  What  is  the  influence  of  imagination  on  our  happiness  ? 

349.  What  injurious  influence  does  a  warm  imagination  exert  on  those 
wno  are  enslaved  by  their  sensual  appetites  ? 

350.  What,  beside  constitutional  biases,  are  the  chief  sources  of  a  des¬ 
ponding  imagination  ? 

351.  What  remark  may  be  made  on  the  regulation  and  culture  of  the 
imagination  ? 

SECTION  V.— INFLUENCE  OF  OPINIONS  UPON  HAPPINESS. 

352.  This  subject  is  discussed  at  length  in  Dr.  Fergu¬ 
son’s  Moral  and  Political  Science.  The  following  are 
some  of  the  doctrines  advanced  : — 

“  It  is  unhappy  to  consider  perfection  as  the  standard 
by  which  we  are  to  censure  others,  not  as  the  rule  by 
which  we  are  to  conduct  ourselves. 

“  It  is  a  wretched  opinion,  that  happiness  consists  in  a 
freedom  from  trouble,  or  in  having  nothing  to  do. 

“  In  consequence  of  this  opinion,  men  complain  of  what 
might  employ  them  agreeably.  By  declining  every  duty 
and  every  active  engagement,  they  render  life  a  burden, 
and  they  complain  that  it  is  so. 

“  It  is  unhappy  to  entertain  an  opinion,  that  anything 
can  amuse  us  better  than  the  duties  of  our  station,  ojr 
than  that  which  we  are  in  the  present  moment  called  upon 
to  do. 

“  It  is  an  unhappy  opinion,  that  beneficence  is  an  effect 


152 


VAIN  EXPECTATIONS  OF  HAPPINESS. 


of  self-denial,  or  that  we  lay  our  fellow  creatures  under 
great  obligations  by  the  kindness  we  do  them. 

“  It  is  happy  to  have  continually  in  view  that  we  are 
members  of  society,  and  of  the  community  of  mankind  ; 
that  we  are  instruments  in  the  hand  of  God  for  the  good 
of  his  creatures ;  that  if  we  are  bad  members  of  society, 
or  unwilling-  instruments  in  the  hand  of  God,  we  do  our 
Utmost  to  counteract  our  nature,  to  abandon  our  station, 
and  to  undo  ourselves. 

“  ‘I  am  in  the  station  which  God  has  assigned  me,'  says 
Epictetus.  With  this  reflection  a  man  may  be  happy  in 
every  station;  without  it,  he  cannot  be  happy  in  any.” 

353.  Most  men  fall  into  gross  inconsistences  in  their 
expectations  of  happiness,  as  well  as  in  the  estimates  they 
form  of  the  prosperity  of  others.  The  following  passage, 
which  is  an  elegant  and  practical  commentary  of  Mrs. 
Barbauld  upon  a  passage  from  Epictetus,  will  fully  justify 
this  assertion  ; — 

“  As  most  of  the  unhappiness  in  the  world  arises  rather 
from  disappointed  desires  than  from  positive  evil,  it  is  of 
the  utmost  consequence  to  attain  just  notions  of  the  laws 
and  order  of  the  universe,  that  we  may  not  vex  ourselves 
with  fruitless  wishes,  or  give  way  to  groundless  and  un¬ 
reasonable  discontent. 

“  We  should  consider  this  world  as  a  great  mart  of 
commerce,  where  fortune  (providence)  exposes  to  our 
view  various  commodities,  riches,  ease,  tranquillity,  fame, 
integrity,  knowledge.  Everything  is  marked  at  a  settled 
price.  Our  time,  our  labor,  our  ingenuity,  is  so  much 
ready  money,  which  we  are  to  lay  out  to  the  best  advan¬ 
tage.  Examine,  compare,  choose,  reject;  but  stand  to 
your  own  judgment,  and  do  not,  like  children,  when  you 
have  purchased  one  thing,  repine  that  you  do  not  possess 
another  which  you  did  not  purchase. 

Such  is  the  force  of  well-directed  industry,  that  a 
steady  and  vigorous  exertion  of  our  faculties,  directed  to 
one  end,  will  generally  insure  success.  Would  you,  for 
instance,  be  rich  1  Do  you  think  that  single  point  woitli 
the  sacrificing  everything  else  to  1  You  may  then  be 
rich.  Thousands  have  become  so  from  the  lowest  begin- 
nings,  by  toil  and  patient  diligence,  and  attention  to  the 
minutest  articles  of  expense  and  profit. 

“  But  you  must  give  up  the  pleasures  of  leisure,  of  a 


UNREASONABLE  COMPLAINTS. 


153 


vacant  mind,  of  a  free,  unsuspicious  temper.  If  you  pre¬ 
serve  your  integrity,  it  must  be  a  coarse  and  vulgar  hon¬ 
esty.  Those  high  and  lofty  notions  of  morals  ■which  you 
brought  with  you  from  the  schools  must  be  considerably 
lowered,  and  mixed  with  the  baser  alloy  of  a  jealous  and 
worldly-minded  prudence.  You  must  learn  to  do  hard, 
if  not  unjust  things  ;  and  for  the  nice  embarrassments  of 
a  delicate  and  ingenuous  spirit,  it  is  necessary  for  you  to 
get  rid  of  them  as  fast  as  possible.  You  must  shut  your 
heart  against  the  Muses,  and  be  content  to  feed  your  un¬ 
derstanding  with  plain,  household  truths.  In  short,  you 
must  not  attempt  to  enlarge  your  ideas,  or  polish  your 
taste,  or  refine  your  sentiments,  but  must  keep  on  in  one 
beaten  track,  without  turning  aside  either  to  the  right 
hand  or  to  the  left.  ‘  But  I  cannot  submit  to  drudgery 
like  this.  I  feel  a  spirit  above  it.’  ’Tis  well;  be  above 
it  then  ;  only  do  not  repine  that  you  are  not  rich. 

“  Is  knowledge  the  pearl  of  price  ?  That  too  may  be 
purchased — by  steady  application,  and  long,  solitary  hours 
of  study  and  reflection.  Bestow  these,  and  you  shall  be 
wise.  ‘  But,’  says  the  man  of  letters,  ‘  what  a  hardship  is 
it,  that  many  who  are  grossly  illiterate  shall  raise  a  for¬ 
tune,  and  make  a  figure,  while  I  have  little  more  than 
the  conveniences  of  life.’  But,  was  it  in  order  to  raise  a 
fortune  that  you  consumed  the  sprightly  hours  of  youth 
in  study  and  retirement  1  You  have  then  mistaken  your 
path,  and  ill-employed  your  industry.  ‘  What  reward 
have  I  then  for  all  my  labors  ]’  What  reward  !  A  large 
and  comprehensive  soul,  well  purged  from  vulgar  fears, 
and  perturbations,  and  prejudices;  able  to  comprehend 
and  interpret  the  works  of  man  and  of  God ;  a  rich,  flour¬ 
ishing,  cultivated  mind,  possessed  of  inexhaustible  stores 
of  entertainment  and  reflection  ;  a  perpetual  spring  of 
fresh  ideas ;  and  the  conscious  dignity  of  superior  intelli¬ 
gence.  Good  heaven  !  and  what  reward  can  you  ask  be¬ 
side  1 

“  ‘  But  is  it  not  some  reproach  upon  the  economy  of 
Providence  that  such  a  one,  who  is  a  mean,  dirty  fellow, 
should  have  amassed  wealth  enough  to  buy  half  a  nation  V 
Not  in  the  least.  He  made  himself  a  mean,  dirty  fellow, 
for  that  very  end.  He  has  paid  his  health,  his  liberty, 
his  conscience  for  it ;  and  will  you  envy  him  fits  bargain  1 
Will  you  hang  your  head,  and  blush  in  his  presence,  be- 


154 


INFLUENCE  OF  HABITS  ON  HAPPINESS. 


cause  he  outshines  you  in  equipage  and  show  1  Lift  up 
your  brow  with  a  noble  confidence,  and  say  to  yourself, 
‘  I  have  not  these  things,  it  is  true ;  but  it  is  because  I 
have  not  sought, — because  I  have  not  desired  them ;  it  is 
because  I  possess  something  better,  I  have  chosen  my 
lot ;  I  am  content  and  satisfied.’ 

“  If  you  would  be  a  philosopher,  these  are  the  terms. 
You  must  do  thus  and  thus  :  there  is  no  other  way.  If 
not,  go  and  be  one  of  the  vulgar.” 


352.  What  is  the  influence  of  opinions  upon  happiness? 

353.  Into  what  inconsistences  do  most  men  fall,  in  their  expectations 
of  happiness,  as  well  as  in  the  estimates  they  form  of  the  prosperity  of 
others  ? 


SECTION  VI.— INFLUENCE  OF  HABITS  ON  HAPPINESS. 

354.  It  is  the  effect  of  habit  to  reconcile  us  to  inconve¬ 
niences  in  our  situation,  and  to  enable  us  to  overcome 
difficulties  in  the  pathway  of  life.  It  was  therefore  a  wise 
counsel  of  Pythagoras :  “  Choose  that  course  of  action 
which  is  best,  and  custom  will  soon  render  it  the  most 
agreeable.” 

“  The  art  in  which  the  secret  of  human  happiness  in  a 
great  measure  consists,”  says  Dr.  Paley,  “  is  to  sei  the 
habits  in  such  a  manner,  that  every  change  may  be  a 
change  for  the  better.  Whatever  is  made  habitual  be¬ 
comes  smooth  and  easy,  and  nearly  indifferent.  The  re¬ 
turn  to  an  old  habit  is  likewise  easy,  whatever  the  habit 
be.  Therefore  the  advantage  is  with  those  habits  which 
allow  of  indulgence  in  the  deviation  from  them.  The 
luxurious  receive  no  greater  pleasure  from  their  dainties 
than  the  peasant  does  from  his  bread  and  cheese  ;  but 
the  peasant,  whenever  he  goes  abroad,  finds  a  feast, 
whereas  the  epicure  must  be  well  entertained  to  escape 
disgust.  A  reader  who  has  inured  himself  to  books  of 
science  and  argumentation,  if  a  novel,  a  well-written 
pamphlet,  an  article  of  news,  a  narrative  of  a  curious 
voyage,  or  the  jouimal  of  a  traveler  comes  in  his  way, 
sits  down  to  the  repast  with  relish ;  enjoys  his  entertain¬ 
ment  while  it  lasts,  and  can  return  when  it  is  over  to  his 
graver  reading  without  distaste.  Another,  with  whom 
nothing  will  go  down  but  works  of  humor  and  pleasantry, 
or  whose  curiosity  must  be  interested  by  perpetual  nov¬ 
elty,  will  consume  a  bookseller’s  window  in  half  a  fore- 


COMPARISON  OF  ENJOYMENTS. 


155 


noon,  during  which  time  he  is  rather  in  search  of  diver¬ 
sion  than  diverted ;  and  as  books  to  his  taste  are  few  and 
short  (they  are  not  so  now-a-days),  and  rapidly  read  over, 
the  stock  is  soon  exhausted,  when  he  is  left  without  re¬ 
source  from  this  principal  supply  of  hai’mless  amuse¬ 
ment.”  Books  of  this  class,  at  present,  so  far  from  being 
harmless,  are  in  general  lamentably  adverse  to  happiness, 
because  destructive  of  morality. 


354.  What  is  the  influence  of  habits  on  happiness  ? 

SECTION  VII.— COMPARISON  OF  DIFFERENT  CLASSES  OP 
ENJOYMENTS. 

355.  Our  enjoyments  may  be  distributed  into  those  of 
sense,  of  imagination,  of  the  understanding,  of  the  social 
and  moral  powers. 

356.  The  pleasures  of  the  outward  senses  are  common  to 
man  and  to  the  brutes,  and  notwithstanding  the  space 
they  occupy  in  the  imagination  of  most  men,  they  must 
be  allowed  to  stand  at  the  bottom  of  the  scale,  and  must 
be  ranked  among  the  lowest  gratifications  of  our  nature. 
When  pursued  too  far,  they  bring  disgust,  and  even  pain 
along  with  them ;  they  please  not  upon  reflection,  as  in¬ 
tellectual  and  moral  exertions  please ;  they  tend  to  dis¬ 
qualify  us  for  the  nobler  delights  of  science  and  virtue  ; 
they  depend  not  on  ourselves,  but  on  other  persons  and 
things  ;  we  lose  all  taste  for  them  in  adversity  ;  and  often 
they  are  followed  to  such  an  extreme  as  to  destroy  health, 
property,  fame,  intellect,  and  moral  sensibilities,  thus  pro¬ 
ducing  a  complete  wreck  of  human  happiness. 

The  result  of  these  observations,  is,  not  that  the  pleas¬ 
ures  of  sense  are  unworthy  the  regard  of  a  wise  man,  but 
that  they  should  he  confined  within  those  limits  which  are 
marked  out  by  the  obvious  intentions  of  nature. 

357.  There  is  a  grand  defect,  however,  in  all  worldly 
sources  of  enjoyment.  Human  experience  universally 
declares  that  there  is  often  found  disappointment  in  the 
pursuit  of  them,  more  or  less  dissatisfaction  in  the  enjoy¬ 
ment  of  them,  and  a  painful  uncertainty  in  the  possession, 

358.  The  pileasures  of  the  imagination  are  unquestion¬ 
ably  of  a  higher  rank  than  those  of  sense,  and  may  be 
protracted  to  a  much  longer  period  without  any  danger 
of  injuring  the  health,  or  of  impairing  the  faculties.  On 


15G 


PLEASURES  OF  INTELLECT. 


the  contrary,  they  tend  to  raise  the  taste  above  the  gross¬ 
ness  of  sensuality,  and  to  diminish  the  temptation  to  vicious 
indulgences,  by  furnishing  agreeable  and  innocent  re¬ 
sources  for  filling  up  the  blanks  of  life.  By  supplying  us 
too  with  pleasures  more  refined  than  those  the  senses 
afford,  they  gradually  prepare  us  for  the  still  higher  en¬ 
joyments  which  belong  to  us  as  rational  and  moral  beings  ; 
and  indeed,  when  properly  regulated,  may  subseiwe,  in  a 
high  degi'ee,  both  our  intellectual  and  moral  improvement. 

Even  to  this  class  of  our  pleasures,  certain  limits  are 
prescribed  by  nature.  When  prolonged  beyond  due 
bounds  we  lose  our  relish  for  them,  and  feel  a  desire  for 
more  active  engagements.  In  many  cases  of  excessive 
indulgence  they  produce  a  bad  eftect  on  the  moral  char¬ 
acter,  by  their  tendency  to  unfit  us  for  action,  and  to  give 
us  a  disrelish  for  real  life.  This  is  one  bad  effect  of  novel¬ 
reading. 

359.  By  the  of  the  under standivg  are  meant 

the  pleasures  arising  from  the  exercise  of  our  reasoning 
and  of  our  inventive  powers.  Of  this  kind,  (1.)  is  the 
pleasure  of  investigation,  which  resolves  itself  partly  into 
the  pleasure  of  activity,  partly  into  that  resulting  from 
the  employment  of  skill,  partly  into  that  arising  from  ex¬ 
pectation  and  hope,  or,  in  other  words,  from  the  antici¬ 
pation  of  discovery. 

(2.)  The  pleasure  of  generalization ,  or  of  rising  from 
particular  truths  to  comprehensive  theorems, — a  process 
which,  beside  the  satisfaction  it  yields  by  the  relief  it 
brings  the  memory,  communicates  to  us  a  sentiment  of 
our  intellectual  power,  by  subjecting  completely  to  our 
command  a  mass  of  information  which  before  only  served 
to  distract  our  attention  and  to  oppress  our  faculties. 

(3.)  To  all  this  we  may  add  the  pleasure  resulting  from 
the  gratification  of  curiosity,  and  from  the  discovex'y  of 
truth. 

(4.)  With  these  pleasures,  various  accessory  ones  are 
combined  ;  the  pleasure,  for  example,  of  extensive  useful¬ 
ness,  when  our  studies  happen  to  be  directed  to  objects 
interesting  to  mankind ;  the  pleasure  arising  from  the 
gratification  of  ambition ;  and  the  social  satisfaction  of 
communicating  our  knoicledge  to  others. 

(5.)  Perhaps,  however,  the  principal  recommendation 
of  this  class  of  our  pleasures  is  derived  from  the  constant 


PLEASURES  OF  THE  HEART. 


157 


and  inexhaustible  resources  they  supply  to  the  mind  in 
its  progress  through  life.  In  this  respect  they  possess 
many  advantages  over  the  pleasures  of  imagination,  as 
they  may  be  extended  to  a  much  longer  period  without 
satiety  or  desire  of  change,  and  are  frequently  enjoyed 
with  increasing  relish  in  old  age  ;  while  on  the  other 
hand,  the  objects  which  interest  the  imagination  gradu¬ 
ally  lose  their  charms  when  we  begin  to  engage  in  the 
business  of  the  world,  and  furnish  at  best  but  relax¬ 
ation  to  diversify  our  habitual  and  more  serious  occu¬ 
pations. 

(6.)  Upon  the  whole,  among  various  subordinate  pur¬ 
suits  to  which  men  are  led  to  devote  themselves  by 
inclination  or  taste  {subordinate,  for  we  do  not  speak  at 
present  of  our  moral  duties),  a  turn  for  science  may  be 
safely  pronounced  to  be  the  happiest  of  any,  and  that 
which  we  may  venture,  with  the  greatest  confidence,  to 
recommend  to  youth  as  the  most  solid  foundation  for  the 
future  comfort  of  their  lives  ;  more  particularly  when  we 
consider  how  very  little  the  pleasures  of  the  understand¬ 
ing  depend  on  external  circumstances,  and  on  the  vicissi¬ 
tudes  of  life. 

The  joys  of  sense,  to  mental  joys  are  mean  ; 

Sense  on  the  present  only  feeds  ;  the  soul 

On  past,  and  future,  forages  for  joy. 

’Tis  hers,  by  retrospect,  through  time  to  range  ; 

And  forward  time’s  great  sequel  to  survey.  Young. 

360.  Under  the  title  of  pleasures  of  the  heart,  are 
comprehended,  the  pleasures  of  benevolence,  of  friend¬ 
ship,  of  love,  of  pity,  of  enjoying  the  favor  and  esteem 
of  others,  and,  above  all,  the  pleasure  resulting  from  the 
consciousness  of  doing  our  duty:  the  purest  and  most 
exquisite  enjoyments  of  which  we  have  any  experience, 
and  which,  by  blending  in  one  way  or  other  with  our 
other  gratifications,  impart  to  them  their  principal 
charm. 

Hence  the  wisest  plan  of  economy,  with  respect  to  our 
pleasures,  is  not  merely  compatible  with  a  strict  observ¬ 
ance  of  the  rules  of  morality,  but  is,  in  a  great  measure, 
comprehended  in  these  rules  j  and,  therefore,  the  happi¬ 
ness,  as  well  as  the  perfection  of  our  nature  consists  in 
doing  our  duty,  with  as  little  solicitude  as  possible  about 
the  event. 


158 


TENDENCY  OF  VIRTUOUS  HABITS. 


Pleasure,  we  both  agree,  is  man’s  chief  good  : 

Our  only  contest,  what  deserves  the  name. 

Give  pleasure's  name  to  naught,  but  what  has  pass’d 
Th’ authentic  soul  of  reason,  *  *  *  * 

*******  and  defies 
The  tooth  of  time  ;  when  past,  a  pleasure  still : 

Dearer  on  trial,  lovelier  for  its  age, 

And  doubly  to  be  prized,  as  it  promotes 
Our  future,  while  it  forms  our  present  joy. 

Some  joys  the  future  overcast ;  and  some 
Throw  all  their  beams  that  way,  and  gild  the  tomb. 

Some  joys  endear  eternity  ;  some  give 
Abhorr’d  annihilation  dreadful  charms. 

Are  rival  joys  contending  for  thy  choice  ? 

Consult  tiry  whole  existence,  and  be  safe: 

That  oracle  will  put  all  doubt  to  flight. 

Short  is  the  lesson,  though  my  lecture  long  : 

Be  good — and  heaven  shall  answer  for  the  rest.  Young, 

There  is,  indeed,  a  rcmarliahle  tendency  in  virtuous 
hahits  to  systematize  the  conduct  for  the  purpose  of  happi¬ 
ness,  and  to  open  up  all  the  various  sources  of  enjoyment 
ill  our  constitution,  without  suffering  any  one  to  encroach 
upon  the  rest.  They  establish  a  proper  balance  among 
our  different  principles  of  action,  and,  by  doing  so,  pro¬ 
duce  a  greater  source  of  enjoyment,  on  the  whole,  than 
we  could  have  obtained  by  allowing  any  one  in  par¬ 
ticular  to  gain  an  ascendant  over  our  conduct. 

361.  It  is  not  right,  however,  to  suppose,  as  some  do, 
that  virtue  is  only  another  name  for  rational  self-love. 
They  coincide  so  wonderfully  together,  as  to  illustrate, 
in  a  striking  manner,  the  unity  as  well  as  the  beneficence 
of  design  in  the  human  constitution.  But  still,  notwith¬ 
standing  these  happy  effects  of  a  virtuous  life,  the  prin¬ 
ciple  of  duty,  and  the  desire  of  happiness,  are  radically 
distinct  from  each  other. 

To  this  it  may  be  added,  that  if  the  desire  of  happiness 
w'ere  the  sole,  or  even  the  goveraing  principle  of  action 
in  a  good  man,  it  could  scarcely  fail  to  frustrate  its  own 
object,  by  filling  the  mind  with  anxious  conjectures  about 
futurity,  and  with  perplexing  calculations  of  the  various 
chances  of  good  and  evil ;  whereas  he,  whose  ruling 
principle  of  action  is  a  sense  of  duty,  conducts  himself  in 
life  with  boldness,  consistency,  and  dignity ;  and  finds 
himself  rewarded  with  that  happiness  which  so  often 
eludes  the  pursuit  of  those  who  exert  every  faculty  of 
the  mind  in  order  to  attain  it. 

362.  In  promoting  our  own  happiness,  the  great  duty 


INJUSTICE  TO  PROVIDENCE. 


159 


which  we  oxoe  to  ourselves  is  to  promote  our  real  interests, 
not  for  any  detached  period,  but  throughout  the  ■whole 
of  our  existence. 

This  cannot  be  done  -without  performing  our  duty  to 
God  and  our  neighbor.  God  has  established  a  close 
connection  betwixt  our  duty  and  our  interest ;  by  per¬ 
forming  the  one  we  shall  assuredly  promote  the  other. 
Duty  is  the  grand  means  of  happiness. 

Pleasure,  due  only  when  all  duty’s  done.  Pollok. 

[Stewart’s  Works,  vol.  v.  pp.  487-553 ;  Beattie’s  Moral  Science,  247- 
252;  Fergus  on  Nature  and  Revelation.] 


355.  Into  what  classes  may  our  enjoyments  be  distributed? 

356.  What  estimate  ought  to  be  put  on  the  pleasures  of  the  outward 
senses  ? 

357.  What  is  the  grand  defect  of  all  worldly  sources  of  enjoyment  and 
possession  ? 

358.  What  estimate  shall  we  put  on  the  pleasures  of  the  imagination? 

359.  What  comparative  place  is  due  to  the  pleasures  of  the  understand¬ 
ing? 

360.  How  shall  the  pleasures  be  considered  which  result  from  the  social 
and  moral  powers  ;  or,  in  other  words,  the  pleasures  of  the  heart  ? 

361.  Is  it  right  then  to  suppose,  as  some  do,  that  virtue  is  only  another 
name  for  rational  self-love  ? 

362.  What  should  especially  be  borne  in  mind  in  promoting  our  own 
happiness  ? 


SECTION  VIII.— INJUSTICE  TO  PROVIDENCE  IN  THE  COMPUTATION 
OF  OUR  PLEASURES  AND  OUR  PAINS. 

363.  (1.)  We  are  accustomed  to  number  the  hours 
which  are  spent  in  distress  or  sorrow,  but  to  forget  those 
which  have  passed  away,  if  not  in  high  enjoyment,  yet  in 
the  midst  of  those  gentle  satisfactions  and  placid  emotions 
which  make  life  glide  smoothly  along. 

(2.)  We  complain  of  the  frequent  disappointments  we 
suffer  in  our  pursuits.  But  we  recollect  not,  that  it  is  in 
pursuit  more  than  in  attainment,  that  our  pleasure  now 
consists.  In  the  present  state  of  human  nature,  man 
derives  more  enjoyment  from  the  exertion  of  his  active 
powers  in  the  midst  of  toils  and  efforts,  than  he  could 
receive  from  a  still  and  uniform  possession  of  the  object 
which  he  strives  to  gain.  “  I  have  lived  long  enough  to 
learn,”  said  Dr.  Adam  Clarke,  “  that  the  great  secret  of 
hximan  hapjnness  is  this  :  never  suffer  yoxir  energies  to 
stagnate.  The  old  adage  of  ‘  too  many  irons  in  the  fire’ 


160 


PROVIDENCE  VINDICATED. 


conveys  an  untruth.  You  cannot  have  too  many — poker, 
tongs,  and  all — keep  them  all  going.” 

(3.)  If  pains  be  scattered  through  all  the  conditions  of 
life,  so  also  are  pleasures.  When  the  human  condition 
appears  most  depressed,  the  feelings  of  men,  through  the 
gracious  appointment  of  Providence,  adjust  themselves 
wonderfully  to  their  state,  and  enable  them  to  extract 
satisfaction  from  sources  that  are  totally  unknown  to 
others. 

(4.)  Many  of  the  evils  which  occasion  our  complaints 
are  wholly  imaginary.  They  derive  their  existence  from 
fancy  and  humor,  and  childish  subjection  to  the  opinions 
of  others.  The  distress  which  they  produce  is  indeed 
real ;  but  its  reality  does  not  arise  from  the  nature  of 
things,  but  from  that  disorder  of  imagination  which  a 
small  measure  of  reflection  might  rectify. 

(5.)  A  great  proportion  of  evils  is  brought  upon  us  by 
our  own  misconduct.  The  ungoveraed  passions  of  men 
betray  them  into  a  thousand  follies  ;  their  follies,  into 
crimes ;  and  their  crimes,  into  calamities.  Yet  nothing 
is  more  common  than  for  such  as  have  been  the  authors 
of  their  own  misery,  to  make  loud  complaints  of  the  hard 
fate  of  men. 

(6.)  It  is  admitted  that  there  are  evils  which  are  both 
real  and  unavoidable ;  from  which  neither  wisdom  nor 
goodness  can  procure  our  exemption.  But  under  these 
evils,  this  comfort  remains,  that  if  they  cannot  be  pre¬ 
vented,  there  are  means  appointed  by  Divine  Providence, 
by  which  they  may  be  much  alleviated.  Religion  is  the 
great  principle  which  acts,  under  such  circumstances,  in 
aid  of  human  happiness.  It  inspires  fortitude,  supports 
patience,  and,  by  its  prospects  and  promises,  darts  a 
cheering  ray  into  the  darkest  shade  of  human  life. 

The  tendency  of  divine  revelation  to  promote  human 
happiness,  is  fully  considered  in  the  last  chapter  of  the 
volume,  and  may  be  profitably  read  in  connection  with 
the  present  chapter. 


363.  In  what  respects  are  we  unjust  to  Divine  Providence  in  the  com¬ 
putation  of  our  pleasures  and  our  pains  ? 


TWO  GREAT  LAWS  OP  REVEALED  MORALITY.  161 


BOOK  VI.— PART  II. 

OF  THE  DUTIES  WHICH  RESPECT  OTHER  BEINGS. 

In  the  remainder  of  the  volume,  these  duties  are 
drawn  from  various  sources.  (1.)  From  the  two  funda¬ 
mental  laws,  of  love  to  God,  and  to  our  neighbor.  (2.) 
From  the  golden  rule  of  our  Savior.  (3.)  From  St. 
Paul’s  description  of  love  in  1  Cor.  xv.  (4.)  From  a 
view  of  man  under  certain  general  relations.  (5.)  From 
the  Ten  Commandments.  (6.)  From  the  biography  of 
Christ  and  his  followers. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  TWO  GREAT  LAWS  OF  REVEALED  MORALITY. 

364.  The  two  great  laws  of  human  duty  recognized  by 
our  Savior,  but  drawn  from  the  Mosaic  writings,  are  in 
the  following  words  : — “  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart,  with  all  thy  soul,  avith 

ALL  THY  MIND,  WITH  ALL  THY  STRENGTH;  this  is  the  first 
and  great  commandment;  and  the  second  is  like  unto  it: 
Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself.  On  these 
two  commandments  hang  all  the  Law  and  the  Prophets.” 

[Matt.  xxii.  37-39  ;  Mark  xii.  30-33.] 

364.  What  are  the  two  great  laws  of  human  duty? 

section  I.— love  to  god. 

365.  The  following  are  perhaps  some  of  the  best  defi¬ 
nitions  that  can  be  furnished  of  the  nature  of  this  princi¬ 
ple  : — 

(1.)  It  is  such  a  reverential  admiration  of  God’s  per¬ 
fections  in  general,  and  such  a  grateful  sense  of  his  good¬ 
ness  in  particular,  as  render  the  contemplation  and  the 
worship  of  Him  delightful  to  us,  and  produce  in  us  a  con¬ 
stant  desire  and  endeavor  to  please  him  in  every  part  of 
our  moral  and  religious  conduct.  [Bishop  Porteus.] 

(2.)  Love  to  God,  though  one  affection,  includes  in  it 
especially  the  three  following  things  : — Complacency  in 


162 


NATURE  OF  LOVE  TO  GOD. 


tJie  divine  character,  gratitude  for  the  divine  goodness,  and 
delight  in  the  divine  hapjnness. 

Love  to  God  is  love  to  Him  for  what  he  is,  and  for 
all  that  he  is.  It  must  regard  Him  in  his  entire  char¬ 
acter. 

Every  existing  creature  owes  to  its  Creator  all  that  it 
is,  and  has,  and  hopes  for ;  and  from  every  creature  that 
is  capable  of  knowing  God,  gratitude  is  due  to  Him  for 
its  being  and  for  its  well-being.  The  complacency  re- 
feiTed  to  is  love  to  God  for  what  He  is,  and  for  the 
benevolence  of  his  nature  as  manifested  to  creation  in 
general ;  gratitude  is  love  to  Him  for  his  kindness  to  us 
personally;  to  us  relatively,  as  members  of  families  and 
communities. 

The  Deity  ought  also  to  be  the  fii'st  of  the  objects  of 
benevolence  or  good-will,  in  the  bosoms  of  his  intelligent 
offsjDi'ing,  though  he  does  not  need  their  benevolence. 
Dy  every  right-hearted  creature  a  pure  and  intense  sym¬ 
pathy  must  be  experienced  with  the  blessedness  of  Deity, 
whether  flowing  from  His  own  exhaustless  self-sufficiency, 
or  from  the  accomplishment  of  the  purposes  of  his  good¬ 
ness  and  righteousness. 

It  is  impossible  that  the  love  to  God,  which  has  been 
described,  can  exist  and  operate  in  any  mind,  but  in  pro¬ 
portion  as  that  mind  is  in  a  state  of  moral  unison  with  the 
mind  of  the  Deity ;  and  wherever  this  is  the  case,  the 
“  keeping  of  God’s  commandments”  will  be  its  unfailing 
indication.  [Wardlaw.] 

(3.)  Love  naturally  transforms  itself  into  the  perform¬ 
ance  of  all  the  relative  duties  which  arise  from  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  of  the  persons  related.  Thus,  in  the  present 
case,  if  we  love  God,  and  consider  him  as  the  Lord  and 
Governor  of  the  world,  our  love  will  soon  become  obe¬ 
dience  ;  if  we  consider  him  as  wise,  good,  and  gracious, 
our  love  will  become  honor,  adoration,  and  gratitude ;  if 
we  add  to  these  our  natural  weakness  and  infirmity,  love 
will  teach  us  dependence,  and  prompt  us,  in  all  our 
wants,  to  fly  for  refuge  to  our  gi'eat  Protector;  and  thus, 
in  all  other  Instances,  may  all  the  particular  duties  be 
drawn  from  this  general  principle.  Hence  its  fundamen¬ 
tal  nature  is  apparent.  [Sherlock.] 

366.  The  love  which  we  ow’e  to  God  is  the  same  in 
nature  with  that  which  we  owe  to  all  created  intelligent 


NATURE  OF  LOVE  TO  GOD. 


163 


beings  ;  but  they  are,  of  course,  to  be  loved  in  subordina¬ 
tion  to  Him,  from  whom  we  cannot  withhold  the  supreme 
love  of  our  hearts  during  every  period  of  our  being,  with¬ 
out  extreme  injustice  and  criminality.  The  degree  of 
love  forms- the  next  subject  of  our  consideration, 

367.  The  terms  of  the  law  in  respect  to  this  point  are 
very  explicit :  “  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with 
all  thy  heart,  and  with  all  thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  mind, 
and  loith  all  thy  strength^ 

The  affection  here  required,  therefore,  must  be  as  large 
as  the  powers  of  the  soul  itself,  and  must  engi'oss  the 
whole,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  contrary  affections,  and  the 
regulation  and  moderation  of  all  other  affections,  in  entire 
subordination  and  subservience  to  this  governing  princi¬ 
ple  ;  so  that  nothing  should  in  any  sense  or  in  any  degree 
be  loved  by  us  but  for  the  Lord’s  sake,  and  according  to 
his  commandment. 

(1.)  He  loves  God  with  all  his  heart  who  loves  nothing 
in  comparison  of  him,  and  nothing  but  in  reference  to  Him 
— who  is  ready  to  give  up,  do,  or  suffer  anything  in  order 
to  please  and  glorify  Him. 

(2.)  He  loves  God  with  all  his  soul,  or,  rather,  with  all 
his  life,  who  is  ready  to  give  up  Ife  for  his  sake  ;  to  be 
deprived  of  all  sorts  of  comforts  and  endure  all  sorts  of 
torments  rather  than  dishonor  God ;  who  employs  life, 
with  all  its  comforts  and  conveniences,  as  means  of  glori¬ 
fying  God. 

(3.)  He  loves  God  with  all  his  strength  who,  for  the 
honor  of  his  Maker,  spares  neither  labor  nor  cost ;  who 
employs  in  his  sei'vice  all  his  goods,  his  talents,  his  power, 
credit,  authority,  and  influence. 

(4.)  He  loves  God  with  all  his  mind,  or  intellect,  who 
applies  himself  only  to  know  God  and  his  holy  will ;  who 
receives  with  submission,  gratitude,  and  pleasure,  the 
sacred  truths  wdiich  God  has  revealed  to  man  ;  who  forms 
no  projects  nor  designs  but  in  reference  to  God  and  the 
interests  of  mankind;  who  banishes  from  his  understand¬ 
ing  and  memory  every  useless,  foolish,  and  dangerous 
thought,  together  with  every  idea  which  has  any  ten¬ 
dency  to  defile  his  soul  or  turn  it  for  a  moment  from  the 
center  of  eternal  repose.  [Dr.  Adam  Clarke.] 

368.  The  first  and  the  natural  expression  of  love  to 
God  is  OBEDIENCE  TO  HIS  WILL.  It  is  of  the  nature  of  love 


1G4 


LOVE  EXPRESSED  BY  OBEDIENCE. 


to  prompt  to  a  compliance  with  the  will  of  the  beloved 
object. 

By  obedience  to  the  will  of  God,  we  mean  the  whole 
of  our  duty  as  accountable  creatures.  Every  duty, 
whether  its  direct  object  be  God,  our  fellow-creatures,  or 
ourselves,  is  a  duty  which  we  owe  to  God  ;  and  that  mo¬ 
rality  must  therefore  be  extremely  defective  which  doea 
not  proceed  from  the  principle  of  love  to  God.  This  has, 
been  proved  in  a  previous  chapter. 

The  law  of  God  is  the  expression  of  His  will,  who  is 
infinitely  wise,  just,  and  good  ;  it  is  nothing  else  than  the 
measure  and  rule  of  that  obedience  which  the  natures 
of  God  and  man  make  necessary  from  the  one  to  the 
other. 

The  obligation  to  render  this  obedience  arises  from  the 
relations  necessarily  subsisting  between  a  created  and 
dependent  moral  agent  and  the  great  Creator.  The  law 
which  he  gives  to  his  creatures  is  the  standard  and  direc¬ 
tory,  as  to  the  nature  and  extent  of  that  love  and  service 
which  \\erQ  previously  and  necessarily  due. 

Its  authority  is  not  at  all  affected  by  the  way  in  which 
it  is  made  known  to  us — that  being  the  same,  whether  it 
is  ascertained  from  a  survey  of  the  established  order  of 
the  universe,  an  analysis  of  the  powers  of  our  moral  con¬ 
stitution,  or  by  divine  revelation.  If  we  are  only  satisfied 
that  the  voice  which  speaks  is  the  voice  of  God,  we  are 
bound  to  listen  and  obey,  whatever  be  the  medium  through 
which  it  reaches  us. 

Different  Forms  of  Obedience  to  the  Law  of  God. 

369.  This  obedience  has  reference  to  the  commands 
which  God  enjoins ;  to  the  truths  which  he  reveals ;  and 
to  the  dispensations  which  he  appoints.  In  the  first  case, 
he  is  to  obey  or  execute  ;  in  the  second,  to  believe ;  in 
the  third,  to  submit. 

370.  To  render  our  obedience  to  his  commands  accept¬ 
able — 

(1.)  It  must  be  intended,  voluntary,  affectionate. 

(2.)  It  must  proceed  from  a  deep  and  practical  sense 
of  God’s  authority  over  us. 

(3.)  We  must  have  respect,  in  our  obedience,  to  all 
God’s  commandments.  The  willful  violation  of  one  of 
them  is  the  virtual  violation  of  the  principle  upon  which 


DIFFERENT  FORMS  OF  OBEDIENCE. 


1G5 


they  are  all  founded,  and  a  dishonor  to  the  authority  by 
which  they  are  all  enacted. 

371.  It  appears  to  be  the  dvty  of  all  men  to  helieve  the 
doctrine  which  God  reveals  as  his  truth,  from  the  follow¬ 
ing  considerations : — 

(1.)  God  commands  all  men  to  helieve  the  doctrine  of 
divine  revelation.  It  is  the  duty  of  man  to  obey  all  God’s 
commands. 

(2.)  God  is  not  more  worthy  of  our  love  on  account  of 
his  perfect  moral  excellence,  than  he  is,  on  the  same 
ground,  of  our  confidence  in  all  that  he  reveals.  If,  then, 
it  is  our  duty  to  love  him  supremely,  it  is  our  duty  to  be¬ 
lieve  him  implicitly. 

(3.)  That  man  is  accountable  for  his  belief,  and  is  phys¬ 
ically  capable  of  rendering  this  act  of  obedience  to  God, 
is  implied  in  the  greater  part  of  the  intercourse  of  life. 
Is  it  not  daily  taken  for  granted,  in  the  transactions  of 
human  life,  that  man  is  bound  to  form  his  judgments  ac- 
coi'ding  to  truth ;  that  is,  that  as  a  being  possessed  of 
understanding  and  will,  he  is  accountable  to  God  for  the 
use  which  he  makes  of  these  faculties  in  the  opinions 
which  he  entertains  ? 

('I.)  As  we  are  in  no  case  required  to  believe  beyond 
the  just  weight  of  evidence,  so  are  we  capable,  in  every 
c«ise  in  which  our  faith  is  required,  of  weighing  the  suffi¬ 
ciency  of  evidence — more  especially  of  weighing  that  va¬ 
ried  and  ample  testimony  which  attests  divine  revelation. 

(5.)  The  mind,  in  believing  or  disbelieving,  is  very 
much  influenced  by  the  state  of  the  heart ;  and  we  are 
certainly  accountable  for  the  dispositions  we  entertain, 
and  for  the  influence  we  allow  them  to  exert  upon  our 
belief. 

(6.)  Faith,  as  an  act  of  the  human  mind,  is  represented 
throughout  the  Scriptures  as  in  a  high  degree  virtuous 
and  praise  woi’thy,  while  unbelief  in  the  testimony  of  God 
is  denounced  as  extremely  criminal.  Faith  is  there  set 
forth  as  an  act  of  obedience — as  the  confidence  of  the 
heart  given  to  God — as  a  principle  which  is  essential  to 
the  exercise  of  time  virtue — as  a  principle  which  controls 
and  regulates  the*  affections  and  desires,  and  gives  to 
what  is  yet  future  and  unseen  the  reality  of  what  is  jjres- 
ent  and  observed. 

372.  Obedience,  considered  as  an  act  of  cordial  submis- 


166 


DIFFERENT  FORMS  OF  OBEDIENCE. 


sion,  consists,  not  in  a  submission  to  evils,  but  to  the  wise 
and  gracious  will  of  God  in  tiieir  appointment.  We  may, 
very  consistently  with  the  most  dutiful  acquiescence,  have 
a  lively  sense  of  the  severity  of  the  afflictions  which  we 
are  called  to  endure ;  and  it  is  not  improper  in  us  to 
wish,  and  to  use  all  lawful  methods  to  escape  them.  In¬ 
difference  to  them,  were  this  possible,  is  incompatible 
with  the  exercise  of  submission,  and,  considered  as  ex¬ 
pressions  of  the  will  of  God,  indifl'erence  to  afflictions  is 
highly  unbecoming  and  sinful.  In  the  exercise  of  a 
proper  submission,  the  understanding  approves  of  the 
dispensations  of  God  as  holy,  wise,  and  good. 

The  duty  of  suhmission  is  apparent  from  God’s  perfect 
right  to  dispose  of  us  and.  ours ;  from  his  rectitude  and 
his  love.  [Dewar,  vol.  ii.  pp.  126-144.] 

373.  In  the  exercise  of  love,  we  are  further  led  to  make 
God  alone  the  object  of  our  adoration  and  worship  ; 
and  to  acknowledge  him  as  our  God,  and  give  Him  the 
glory  due  unto  him,  to  the  entire  exclusion  of  whatever 
might  claim  the  place  and  the  honor  of  Deity. 

This  expression  of  love  to  Gorl  is  considered  in  the 
exposition  of  the  First  Commandment. 

374.  This  law  concerning  love  to  God  is  justly  called 
the  First  and  great  Commandment,  for  various  reasons  : 
(1.)  because  He  who  is  the  object  of  it  is  the  greatest 
and  best  of  all  beings,  and  therefore  the  duties  owing  to 
Him  must  have  the  precedence  and  the  preeminence 
over  every  other ;  (2.)  because  it  is  the  grand  leading 
principle  of  right  conduct,  the  original  source  and  fount¬ 
ain  from  which  all  Christian  graces  flow,  from  whence 
the  living  waters  of  religion  take  their  rise,  and  branch 
out  into  all  the  various  duties  of  human  life  ;  because 
(3.)  it  is,  when  fervent  and  sincere,  the  grand  master¬ 
spring  of  human  conduct,  the  only  motive  sufficiently 
powerful  to  subdue  our  strongest  passions,  to  carry  us 
triumphantly  through  the  severest  trials,  and  render  us 
superior  to  the  most  formidable  temptations. 

375.  Thou  shah  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself,  is  the  re¬ 
vealed  law  of  duty  toward  our  neighbor. 

~  • 

365.  What  definitions  of  love  to  God  have  been  given  by  good  wri¬ 
ters  ? 

366.  What  exposition  may  be  given  of  l.ae  nature  of  love  to  God  when 
compared  with  love  to  other  beings  ? 


LOVE  TO  OUR  NEIGHBOR. 


167 


367.  Wljat  particulars  are  stated  in  the  law,  as  to  the  degree  and  ex¬ 
tent  of  the  affection  thus  defined? 

368.  What  is  the  most  natural  and  constant  expression  of  love  to  God? 

369.  What  are  the  different  forms  of  obedience  to  the  law  of  God  ? 

370.  What  is  required,  to  render  our  obedience  to  his  commands  accept¬ 
able  ? 

371.  How  does  it  appear  to  be  the  duty  of  all  men  to  believe  the  doc¬ 
trines  which  God  reveals  as  his  truth  ? 

372.  What  is  the  nature  of  obedience  to  God,  considered  as  an  act  of 
cordial  submission  ? 

373.  What  other  prominent  expression  of  love  to  God  is  included  in  the 
definitions  given  of  that  affection  ? 

374.  Why  is  this  law  concerning  our  love  to  God  denominated  the 
“  first  and  the  great  commandment  ?” 

375.  What  is  the  revealed  law  of  duty  toward  our  neighbor  ? 

SECTION  II.— LOVE  TO  OUR  NEIGHBOR. 

376.  The  term  neighbor  denotes,  in  the  Scriptures,  not 
only  any  person  who  may  live  near  us,  but  every  man 
with  whom  we  have  any  concern ;  every  one  who  stands 
in  need  of  our  kindness,  and  to  whom  we  are  able  to 
extend  it ;  anv  one  from  whom  we  receive  a  kindness, 
including,  therefore,  not  only  our  relations,  friends,  and 
countrymen,  but  even  our  enemies,  as  appears  from  the 
parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan. 

The  precept  therefore  requires  us,  generally,  to  love 
our  fellow-creatures  as  we  do  ourselves. 

[Matt.  V.  43  ;  Mark  xii.  31 ;  Luke  x.  27-37.] 

377.  To  love  our  neighbor,  is  to  bear  him  good-will ; 
and  this  of  course  will  dispose  us  to  think  favorably  of 
him  and  behave  properly  to  him,  in  the  matter,  particu¬ 
larly,  of  promoting  his  happiness. 

To  love  him  as  we  love  ourselves,  is  to  have  not  only  a 
real,  but  a  Strong  and  active  good-will  toward  him ;  with 
a  tenderness  for  his  interests  duly  proportioned  to  that 
which  we  naturally  feel  for  our  own.  Such  a  temper 
would  most  powerfully  I'estrain  us  from  evei-ything  wrong, 
and  prompt  us  to  everything  right ;  and  therefore  is  the 
fulfilling  of  the  law,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  our  mutual 
behavior.  It  would  prompt  us  to  do  all  we  can  for  the 
happiness  of  each  other. 

Love  transforms  itself  into  the  exercise  of  every  rela¬ 
tive  duty  on  the  simple  view  of  the  different  circumstances 
of  the  persons  concerned. 

Thus  :  love,  with  regard  to  a  superior,  becomes  honor 
and  respect,  and  shows  itself  in  a  cheerful  obedience  and 
a  willing  submission  to  the  rightful  commands  of  author- 


168 


LOVE  TO  OUR  NEIGHBOR. 


ity;  love,  with  respect  to  our  equals,  is  friendship  and 
benevolence ;  toward  inferiors,  it  is  courtesy  and  conde¬ 
scension  ;  if  it  regards  the  happy  and  prosperous,  it  is  joy 
and  pleasure,  which  envy  cannot  corrupt ;  if  it  looks  to- 
wai’d  the  miserable,  it  is  pity  and  compassion — it  is  a 
tenderness  which  will  discover  itself  in  all  the  acts  of 
mercy  and  humanity.  [See*Chalmers’  Works,  vol.  ii.  p.  95.] 

378.  The  only  love  that  may  and  should  he  without 
measure,  and  without  comparison  with  any  other  as  its 
standard,  is  the  love  of  w'hich  the  infinite  God  is  himself 
the  object.  That  is  love  “  with  all  the  heart,  with  all  the 
soul,  with  all  the  strength,  and  with  all  the  mind,”  be¬ 
cause  here  all  our  capacities  of  intellect  and  of  feeling 
may  be  expanded  to  their  full  stretch  of  enlargement, 
without  the  possibility  of  excess.  All  other  love  must  he 
measured  and  limited. 

379.  (1.)  It  is  implied  in  this  precept  that  we  do,  and 
should  love  ourselves.  There  is  a  degree  of  self-love 
which  is  corrupt  and  the  root  of  the  gi'eatest  sins ;  but 
there  is  also  a  degree  of  self-love  which  is  reasonable,  and 
the  rule  of  the  greatest  social  duty.  We  must  love  our¬ 
selves,  that  is,  have  a  due  regard  to  the  dignity  of  our 
own  natures,  and  a  due  concern  for  the  welfare  of  our 
own  minds  and  bodies. 

(2.)  The  precept  under  consideration  may  be  under¬ 
stood  as  requiring  only  that  we  have  the  same  kind  of  af¬ 
fection  to  our  fellow-creatures,  as  to  ourselves ;  that,  as 
every  man  has  the  principle  of  self-love,  which  disposes 
him  to  avoid  misery,  and  to  consult  his  own  happiness,  so 
we  should  cultivate  the  affection  of  good-will  to  our  neigh¬ 
bor,  which  is  also  implanted  in  us.  This  at  least  must  be 
commanded  ;  and  this  will  not  only  prevent  our  being  in¬ 
jurious  to  him,  but  will  also  put  us  upon  promoting  his 
good.  It  would  likewise  hinder  men  from  forming  so 
strong  a  notion  of  private  good,  exclusive  of  the  good  of 
others,  as  we  commonly  do. 

Inordinate  self-love  is  the  great  source  of  injustice,  and 
it  prevails  universally.  Who  is  not  very  liable  to  prefer 
his  own  interest,  his  own  pleasure,  his  own  honor,  to  that 
of  other  men  ? 

(3.)  The  precept  before  us  may  be  understood  to  re¬ 
quire,  that  we  love  our  neighbor  in  some  certain  propor¬ 
tion,  or  other,  according  as  we  love  ourselves.  And  in- 


LOVE  TO  OUR  NEIGHBOR. 


169 


deed  a  man’s  character  cannot  be  determined  by  the  love 
he  bears  to  his  neighbor,  considered  absolutely  ;  but  the 
•praportion  which  this  bears  to  self-love,  whether  it  be  at¬ 
tended  to  or  not,  is  the  chief  thing  which  forms  the  char¬ 
acter  and  influences  the  actions.  The  proportionate 
strength  of  the  principle  of  good-will,  and  the  principle  of 
self-love  in  any  man  will  determine  his  character  and 
conduct  as  a  benevolent  or  a  selfish  man.  Love  of  our 
neighbor  then  must  bear  some  due  proportion  to  self- 
love,  and  to  be  virtuous,  it  must  consist  in  the  due  pro¬ 
portion. 

Both  our  nature  and  condition  require,  that  each  par¬ 
ticular  man  should  make  particular  provision  for  himself ; 
and  the  inquiry,  what  proportion  benevolence  should 
bear  to  self-love,  when  brought  down  to  practice,  will 
be,  what  is  a  competent  care  and  provision  for  our¬ 
selves.  Each  man  must  determine  this  for  himself :  the 
proportion  is  real ;  a  competent  provision  has  a  definite 
limit,  and  that  cannot  be  all  which  we  can  possibly  get 
and  keep  within  our  grasp  without  legal  injustice.  In 
determining  this  question,  on  a  moral  ground,  it  may  be 
said,  that  supposing  persons  do  not  neglect  what  they 
really  owe  to  themselves,  the  more  of  their  care,  and 
thought,  and  fortune  they  employ  in  doing  good  to  their 
fellow-creatures,  the  nearer  they  come  up  to  the  law  of 
perfection,  “  Thou  shalt  love  thy  neighbor  as  thyself” 

(4.)  If  the  words  as  thyself,  were  even  to  be  under¬ 
stood  of  an  equality  of  affection,  it  would  not  be  attended 
with  those  consequences  which  perhaps  may  be  thought 
to  follow  from  it. 

Suppose  a  person  to  have  the  same  settled  regard  to 
others  as  to  himself ;  that  in  every  deliberate  scheme  or 
pursuit  he  took  their  interest  into  the  account  in  the  same, 
degree  as  his  own,  so  far  as  an  equality  of  affection  would 
produce  this  :  yet  he  would  in  fact,  and  ought  to  be, 
much  more  taken  up  and  employed  about  himself  and 
his  own  concerns,  than  about  others  and  their  interests. 
For,  beside  the  one  common  affection  toward  himself  and 
his  neighbor,  he  would  have  several  other  particular  af¬ 
fections,  passions,  appetites,  which  he  could  not  possibly 
feel  in  common  both  for  himself  and  others.  Now  these 
sensations  themselves  very  much  employ  us,  and  have 
perhaps  as  great  influence  as  self-love. 

H 


170 


LOVE  TO  OUR  NEIGHBOR. 


There  are  moral  considerations  also  requiring  more  at¬ 
tention  to  our  own  happiness  than  that  of  others  ;  for  we 
are  in  a  particular  manner  intrusted  with  ourselves ;  and 
therefore  care  of  our  own  interests,  as  well  as  of  our  con¬ 
duct,  particularly  belongs  to  us.  To  this  may  be  added, 
that  moral  oblisrations  extend  no  further  than  to  natural 

O 

possibilities.  Now  we  have  a  perception  of  our  own  in¬ 
terests,  like  the  consciousness  of  our  own  existence,  which 
we  always  carry  about  with  us  ;  and  which,  in  its  contin¬ 
uation,  kind,  and  degree,  seems  impossible  to  he  felt  in 
respect  to  the  interests  of  others. 

From  all  these  things  it  fully  appears,  that  though  we 
were  to  love  our  neighbor  in  the  same  degree  as  we  love 
ourselves,  so  far  as  this  is  possible,  yet  the  care  of  our¬ 
selves,  of  the  individual,  would  not  be  neglected  :  the  ap¬ 
prehended  danger  of  which  seems  to  be  the  grand  objec¬ 
tion  against  understanding  the  precept  in  its  strict  sense. 

(5.)  On  the  whole  the  precept  under  review  may  only 
instruct  us  to  love  our  neighbor  as  really  and  truly  as  we 
love  ourselves  ;  and  sometimes  it  is  made  the  duty  of  men 
to  expend  their  strength  and  even  lose  their  lives  in  the  ser¬ 
vice  of  other  men.  Our  self-love  rightfully  prompts  us  to 
seek  our  own  happiness  as  far  as  is  consistent  with  the 
duties  we  owe  to  God  and  to  men.  Our  social  love  should 
in  the  same  manner  prompt  us  to  seek  the  happiness  of 
our  neighbor  as  far  as  is  consistent  with  the  duty  we  owe 
to  God  and  to  ourselves. 

Beside,  it  is  not  in  our  power  to  measure  off  our  love 
to  each  individual,  and  to  ourselves,  so  as  to  make  them 
exactly  equal ;  and  beside,  by  this  rule,  it  would  be  our 
duty  to  love  everybody  in  the  same  degree,  whereas 
some  are  worthy  of  more  love  than  others. 

The  precept  mu-st  mean,  therefore,  that  we  are  not  to 
be  exclusively  devoted  to  our  own  interests  ;  this  would 
be  not  self-love,  properly  speaking,  but  selfishness ;  and 
it  means  that  the  interest  of  other  men  is  to  be  in  a  high 
degree  regarded,  as  well  as  our  owm,  in  all  our  dealings 
with  them.  [Bishop  Butler.] 

376.  What  person  is  meant  by  the  term  neighbor  ? 

377.  What  is  the  nature,  and  the  measure,  of  the  love  we  are  required 
to  entertain  toward  our  fellow  men? 

378.  In  regard  to  the  measure,  or  degree  of  love  legislated  upon  in  these 
two  great  laws  concerning  God  and  our  neighbor,  what  is  especially 
worthy  to  be  observed? 


CHRISTIAN  LAW  OF  RECIPROCITY. 


171 


379.  Does  the  law  of  love  to  our  neighbor  require  that  we  shall  love 
him  as  much  as  we  love  ourselves ;  and  if  this  be  its  meaning,  is  not  the 
precept  impracticable?  Self-love  is  a  princijile  implanted  in  our  breasts 
by  the  Creator  himself,  and  though  social  love  is  also  another  affection 
which  He  has  given  us,  yet  there  is  no  comparison  between  the  strength 
of  the  two  principles  ;  and  no  man  can,  or  does  love  all  mankind  as  well 
as  he  does  himself.  With  reference  to  these  points,  what  answer  should 
be  returned  ? 

SECTION  III.— THE  CHRISTIAN  LAW  OF  RECIPROCITY. 

380.  This  law  is  set  forth  in  the  following  terms  : 
“  All  things  whatsoever  ye  ivould  that  men  should  do  to 
you,  even  so  do  ye  unto  them.''' 

This  is  a  reasonable,  equitable,  and  practicable  rule  ;  for 
when  we  treat  our  neighbor  exactly  as  we  would  expect 
and  hope  to  be  treated  by  him  in  the  same  circumstances, 
we  give  a  clear  and  decisive  proof  that  we  love  him  as 
ourselves. 

This  rule  is  easy  to  be  remembered  as  well  as  to  be  un¬ 
derstood,  and  it  is  applicable  to  a  thousand  cases  ;  in  this 
manner  :  Put  yourself  in  the  place  of  your  neighbor. 
Imagine  yourself  to  be  in  all  respects  in  his  condition, 
and  him  to  be  in  yours  ;  and  then  ask  yourself,  How 
should  I  be  likely  to  judge  1  How  much  should  I  be  dis¬ 
posed  to  claim  % 

In  doing  this,  we  should  enter  into  a  variety  of  consid¬ 
erations.  We  should  imagine  ourselves,  for  instance,  to 
have  been  educated  under  the  same  prejudices  with  our 
neighbor  ;  to  ‘be  under  his  temptations,  subject  to  his 
natural  infirmities,  possessed  of  no  more  than  his  share 
of  information,  and  accustomed  to  dwell  in  his  circle  of 
friends  and  acquaintance.  We  should  imagine  ourselves 
pressed  by  the  same  want,  which  perhaps  he  feels ;  or 
tempted  by  the  same  false  friends,  by  whom  he  may  pos¬ 
sibly  be  deceived  ;  we  should  fancy  ourselves  in  his  situ¬ 
ation,  altogether,  and  not  in  part  only. 

The  Golden  Rule  applied  to  various  Classes  of  Persons. 

381.  (1.)  If  men  in  power  were  often  to  place  them¬ 
selves  in  the  situation  of  those  whom  they  govern,  how 
great  would  be  the  advantage  to  the  latter.  How  crimi¬ 
nal  would  that  ambition  then  appear  of  which  the  object 
is,  to  make  the  ruler  great  and  renowned  at  the  expense 
of  the  happiness  of  the  people.  And  if  the  people  would 


172 


THE  GOLDEN  RULE  APPLIED. 


consider  tlie  temptations,  as  well  as  difficulties,  wliich 
rulers  experience  ;  if  they  would  reflect  how  hard  it  is  to 
please  the  many,  and  how  impossible  to  please  all ;  how 
provoking  is  a  spirit  of  insubordination  and  discontent, 
and  how  strong  an  incentive  to  new  severities ;  surely 
they  would  have  more  candor  in  judging  their  superiors, 
as  well  as  more  acquiescence  and  submission. 

(2.)  If  masters  would  put  themselves  in  the  place  of 
their  servants,  and  would  contemplate  the  trials  of  that 
more  low  and  dependent  state  :  and  if  servants  would  ask 
themselves,  what  they,  if  they  were  masters,  would  be 
likely  to  require  of  a  servant ;  if  they  would  reflect  how 
blamable  would  seem  to  them,  if  they  were  masters, 
either  the  insolence,  or  the  unfaithfulness,  or  the  dupli¬ 
city,  or  the  sloth,  or  even  the  forgetfulness  of  a  servant  : 
surely,  then,  each  would  be  disposed  to  a  more  candid  in¬ 
terpretation  of  the  other’s  conduct,  and  to  a  stricter  ful¬ 
fillment  of  his  own  duty. 

(3.)  So  also  if  parents  and  teachers  would  imagine  them¬ 
selves  in  the  place  of  the  children  who  are  subject  to 
them  ;  if,  instead  of  measuring  the  faults  of  every  child 
by  the  degree  of  inconvenience  brought  upon  themselves, 
they  would  divest  themselves  of  this  selfishness,  and  would 
make  that  allowance  for  the  isfnorance  and  heedlessness 
of  youth,  which  they  themselves  would  think  reasonable, 
if  they  were  in  the  place  of  the  children  ;  how  different 
would  be  the  judgment,  respecting  many  of  the  errors  of 
youth  ;  and  how  much  milder  often  would  be  the  punish¬ 
ment.  And  if  children  could  be  persuaded  to  reflect 
how  much  pain  a  parent  feels  in  seeing  the  stubbornness 
and  disobedience,  or  the  inattention  and  ingratitude,  of 
his  offspring  ;  and  how  much  pleasure  in  witnessing  the 
contrary  disposition  ;  then  children  would  learn  to  be 
more  attentive  and  obedient. 

(4.)  If  the  buyer  and  the  seller  would  put  themselves  in 
the  place  of  each  other;  then  the  fraud  and  iniquity  of 
trade  would  cease. 

(5.)  If  all  those  who  are  disposed  to  quarrel  with  their 
neighbors,  if  all  the  complaining,  and  the  censorious,  and 
the  prejudiced,  would  be  careful  to  put  themselves  in 
the  place  of  the  party  whom  they  blame,  before  they  al¬ 
low  thern^elves  to  utter  anything  to  his  prejudice;  how 
would  peace  and  harmony  be  promoted  !  How  extensive 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  THE  GOLDEN  RULE.  173 

is  this  precept  of  Christ,  and  how  favorable  to  the  happi¬ 
ness  of  the  world  ! 

382.  The  philosophy  of  the  rule,  thus  illustrated,  is 
worthy  of  notice.  Behaving  properly  depends  on  judg¬ 
ing  truly ;  and  that,  in  cases  of  any  doubt,  depends  on 
hearing  with  due  attention  both  sides.  To  our  own  side 
we  never  fail  of  attending  :  the  rule  thei'efore  is,  give 
the  other  side  the  same  attention  by  supposing  it  your 
own ;  and  after  considering  carefully  and  fairly,  what,  if 
it  were  indeed  your  own,  you  should  not  only  desire  (for 
desires  may  be  unreasonable),  but  think  you  had  an 
equitable  claim  to,  and  well-grounded  expectation  from 
the  other  party,  that  do  in  regard  to  him.  Would  we 
but  honestly  take  this  method,  our  mistakes  would  be  so 
exceedingly  few,  and  slight,  and  innocent,  that  the  Great 
Teacher  might  well  add,  “  For  this  is  the  Law  and  the 
Prophets by  which  he  may  be  understood  to  say,  that 
this  precept  is  an  abstract  of  all  that  had  been  prescribed 
by  the  law  and  tlie  prophets  respecting  our  duty  to  man  ; 
that  all  they  delivered  on  the  subject  is  reducible  to  this, 
so  that,  were  their  writings  lost,  this  summary  might  be 
expanded  into  all  they  uttered. 

In  the  application  of  this  rule,  to  make  it  a  reasonable 
and  useful  one,  reason  must  be  exercised,  and  a  regard, 
observed  to  what  is  morally  right,  as  well  as  agreeable. 
A  selfish  man  may  desire  to  have  all  his  wishes  gratified 
together.  Does  this  lay  him  under  obligation  to  gratify 
all  the  wishes  of  others  ]  that  would  be  to  forget  that  the 
wishes  of  others,  and  their  general  state  of  mind  may  be 
as  far  wrong  as  his  own.  A  wrong  wish  in  himself  can 
never  oblige  him  to  fulfill  a  wrong  wish  in  another. 

True  it  is,  however,  that,  in  proportion  as  a  man’s  de¬ 
sires  for  himself  are  large  and  extravagant,  he  aggravates 
his  condemnation,  if  he  applies  a  stinted  and  penurious 
measure  to  the  kindness  or  justice  of  his  dealings  with 
other  men.  “  With  what  measure  ye  mete,  it  shall  be 
measured  to  you  again.” 

[Thornton  ;  Wardlaw  ;  Sir  Matthew  Hale.] 

380.  What  rule  of  action  was  delivered  by  our  Savior,  that  may  he  re¬ 
garded  as  of  nearly  the  same  import  with  the  law  now  under  considera¬ 
tion  ? 

381.  How  may  this  golden  rule,  delivered  by  our  Savior,  be  applied  to 
various  classes  of  persons  ? 

383.  What  is  tire  philosophy  of  the  rule,  thus  illustrated? 


174 


SPURIOUS  PHILANTHROPY. 


SECTION  IV.— I.OVE  TO  OUR  NEIGHBOR  DISTINGUISHED  FROM  A 
SPURIOUS  PHILANTHROPY. 

383.  There  is  a  school  of  modern  infidels  who  resolve 
all  virtue  into  a  chimerical  passion  for  the  public  good ; 
and  the  characteristic  feature  of  their  system  is,  to  build 
up  general  benevolence  on  the  destruction  of  individual 
tenderness. 

In  opposition  to  this  system,  reason  and  revelation 
unite  in  teaching  us,  that  in  the  development  of  the  pas¬ 
sions,  we  must  advance  from  the  private  to  public  affec¬ 
tions,  and  that  extended  benevolence  is  the  last  and  most 
pei’fect  fruit  of  individual  regards. 

While  we  have  represented  love  to  our  neighbor  as 
consisting  in  universal  benevolence,  it  must  be  added,  that 
instead  of  satisfying  itself  with  mere  speculations  on  the 
desirableness  of  the  well-being  of  the  whole,  or  with 
mere  good  wishes  for  the  happiness  of  mankind  in  gen¬ 
eral,  it  will  put  forth  its  energies  for  those  who  are  within 
its  reach  ;  it  would,  if  it  could,  touch  the  extreme  parts  ; 
but  as  this  cannot  be  done,  it  will  exert  a  beneficial  influ¬ 
ence  on  those  who  are  near. 

The  persons  with  whom  we  daily  converse  and  act, 
are  those  on  whom  our  benevolence  is  first  and  most  con¬ 
stantly  to  express  itself,  because  these  are  the  parts  of 
the  whole  which  give  us  the  opportunity  of  calling  into 
exercise  our  universal  philanthropy.  But  to  them  it  is 
not  to  be  confined  either  in  feeling  or  action  ;  for,  as  we 
have  opportunity,  we  are  to  do  good  to  all  men,  and  send 
abroad  our  beneficent  regards  to  the  great  family  of  man, 

[James’s  Christian  Charity  ;  Dr.  Dewar  has  a  fine  article  on  this  subject, 
Mor.  Phil.  vol.  ii.  pp.  321-327.] 


383.  How  is  active  and  universal  benevolence  distinguished  from  a 
spurious  philanthropy  ? 


CHAPTER  II. 

THE  APOSTLE  PAUL’S  DESCRIPTION  OF  LOVE  TO  OUR 

NEIGHBOR. 

384.  Reference  is  here  made  particularly  to  that  de¬ 
scription  of  it  which  is  found  in  the  thirteenth  chapter  of 
his  first  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians. 


THE  MEEKNESS  OF  LOVE. 


175 


By  a  beautiful  personificatiou,  the  apostle  has  de¬ 
scribed  this  grace  under  the  figure  of  an  interesting 
female,  who,  like  an  angel  of  light,  lifts  her  cherubic 
form  amid  the  children  of  men ;  shedding,  as  she  passes 
along,  a  healing  influence  on  the  wounds  of  society, 
hushing  the  notes  of  discord,  driving  before  her  the 
spirits  of  mischief,  bringing  the  graces  in  her  train,  and 
converting  earth  into  a  resemblance  of  heaven.  “Love 
svfferetk  long,  and  is  kind;  love  envieth  not;  love  vaunt- 
eth  not  itself ;  is  not  puffed  up  ;  doth  not  behave  itself  un¬ 
seemly  ;  seeketh  not  her  own  ;  is  not  easily  provoked  ;  think- 
eth  no  evil;  rejoiceth  not  in  iniquity,  hut  rejoiceth  in  the 
truth;  heareth  all  things,  helieveth  all  things,  hopeth  all 
things,  endureth  all  things T 

385.  There  are  other  manifestations  or  operations  of 
love,  beside  those  which  are  here  specified — such,  for  in¬ 
stance,  as  justice,  and  chastity ;  for  it  is  impossible  to  love 
mankind,  and  violate  the  rules  of  either  of  these  duties  : 
the  specification  is  here  restricted  to  those  properties  of 
love  which  are  comprehended  in  the  word  temper — a  sub¬ 
ject  that  has  been  treated  in  the  chapter  on  Happiness. 

386.  It  embraces  the  meekness  of  love,  the  kindness 
of  love,  the  contentment  of  love,  the  humility  of  love,  the 
decorum  of  love,  the  disinterestedness  of  love,  the  unsus¬ 
piciousness  of  love,  the  joy  of  love,  the  candor  of  love, 
and  the  self-denial  of  love. 

Each  of  these  properties  will  be  briefly  considered. 


384.  What  description  of  love  to  our  neighbor  is  here  referred  to  ? 

385.  Are  these  the  only  operations  of  charity,  or  love  ? 

386.  What  properties  of  temper  does  this  description  embrace  ? 

SECTION  I.— THE  MEEKNESS  OF  LOVE. 

“  Charity  suffereth  long — is  not  easily  provoked." 

387.  In  reference  to  the  irascible  passions,  there  are 
three  things  which  love  will  prevent : — 

(1.)  It  will  prevent  an  irritable  and  petulant  disposition  : 
for,  it  will  make  us  willing  to  think  the  best  of  those  with 
whom  we  have  to  do ;  it  will  disarm  us  of  that  suspicion  and 
mistrust,  which  make  us  regard  everybody  as  intending  to 
injure  us  ;  will  cause  us  to  find  out  pleas  for  those  who 
have  done  us  harm,  and  when  this  is  impossible,  will  lead 
us  to  pity  their  weakness,  or  forgive  their  wickedness. 


176 


THE  MEEKNESS  OF  LOVE. 


The  late  Dr.  Bowditch. 

An  impressive  illustration  of  these  remarks  may  be  de¬ 
rived  from  an  incident  in  the  life  of  the  late  Dr.  Bow- 
ditch,  of  Salem,  Mass.,  who  was  as  eminent  for  bis  great 
and  useful  talents,  as  he  was  beloved  by  all  who  were 
acquainted  with  him. 

“  Dr.  Bowditch  had  been  preparing  a  plan  of  Salem, 
which  he  intended  soon  to  publish.  It  had  been  the  fruit 
of  much  labor  and  care.  By  some  means  or  other,  an  indi¬ 
vidual  in  the  town  had  surreptitiously  got  possession  of  it, 
and  had  the  audacity  to  issue  proposals  to  publish  it  as 
his  own.  This  was  too  much  for  Dr.  Bowditch  to  bear. 
He  instantly  went  to  the  person,  and  burst  out  into  the 
following  strain  : — ‘You  villain,  how  dare  you  do  this] 
If  you  proceed  any  further  in  this  business,  I  will  prose¬ 
cute  you  to  the  utmost  extent  of  the  law.’  The  poor  fel¬ 
low  cowered  before  the  storm  of  his  indignation,  and  was 
silent — for  the  doctor’s  wrath  was  terrible.  Dr.  Bow¬ 
ditch  went  home  and  slept  on  it ;  and,  the  next  day, 
hearing  from  some  authentic  source  that  the  man  was 
extremely  poor,  and  had  probably  been  driven  by  the 
necessities  of  his  family  to  commit  this  audacious  plagia¬ 
rism,  his  feelings  were  touched,  his  heart  melted  away 
like  wax.  He  went  to  him  again,  and  said,  ‘  Sir,  you  did 
very  wrong,  and  you  know  it,  to  appro2:)riate  to  your  own 
use  and  benefit,  the  fruit  of  my  labors.  But  I  understand 
you  are  poor,  and  have  a  family  to  support.  I  feel  for 
you,  and  will  help  you.  That  plan  is  unfinished,  and 
contains  errors  that  would  have  disgraced  you  and  me, 
had  it  been  published  in  the  state  in  which  you  found  it. 
I’ll  tell  you  what  I  will  do.  I  will  finish  the  plan  ;  I  will 
correct  the  errors ;  and  then  you  shall  publish  it  for  your 
own  benefit,  and  I  will  head  the  subscription  list  with  my 
name.’  ” 

What  a  noble  triumph  of  Chi'istianity  over  passion,  even 
where  the  provocation  was  peculiarly  strong ;  what  a 
triumph  of  benevolence  over  even  his  own  just  claims ! 
How  much  greater  did  he  show  himself,  as  a  man,  than 
an  Alexander  or  a  Caesar,  who,  while  they  triumphed 
over  others,  were  incompetent  to  govern  their  own  law¬ 
less  passions  ! 

(~.)  Love 2>rcvcnts  immoderate  anger  ;  for  it  cannot  allow 


rttJG  MEEKNESS  OF  LOVE. 


177 


itself  to  Indulge  those  tempers  which  are  unfriendly  to  the 
happiness  of  mankind. 

(3.)  Love  tcill  of  course  2>revent  revenge.  The  volume 
of  history  is  stained,  from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  with 
the  blood  which  has  been  shed  by  the  demon  of  revenge. 

388.  Too  generally,  the  application  of  the  term  re¬ 
venge  is  confined  to  the  grosser,  more  mischievous,  and 
more  violent  expressions  of  wrath,  such  as  maiming  the 
person,  openly  slandering  the  reputation,  or  wantonly  in¬ 
juring  the  property  of  others. 

But  there  are  a  thousand  petty  acts  of  spite  and  ill-will, 
hy  which  a  revengeful  spirit  may  operate.  If  we  refuse  to 
speak  to  another  by  whom  we  have  been  injured,  and 
pass  him  with  silent  or  manifest  scorn  ;  if  we  take  delight 
in  talking  of  his  failings,  and  in  lowering  him  in  the  opin¬ 
ion  of  others ;  if  we  show  ill-will  to  his  children  or  rela¬ 
tions  on  his  account ;  all  this  is  as  truly  the  acting  of  re¬ 
venge,  as  if  we  proceeded  to  inflict  bodily  injury.  The 
spirit  of  revenge  simply  means  doing  evil  for  evil,  and 
taking  pleasure  in  doing  so. 

389.  We  are  not,  however,  forbidden  to  defend  our 
persons,  our  property,  our  reputation,  from  the  aggres¬ 
sions  of  lawless  mischief.  If  an  assassin  attempt  to  maim 
or  murder  me,  I  am  allowed  to  resist  the  attack,  even  to 
extremity ;  for  this  is  not  avenging  an  evil,  but  an  effort 
to  prevent  one. 

390.  ^ our  character  in  society  is  aspersed,  we  must  en¬ 
deavor,  by  peaceful  means,  to  gain  an  apology  and  excul¬ 
pation  ;  and  if  this  cannot  be  obtained,  we  are  authorized 
to  appeal  to  the  law  :  for,  if  calumny  were  not  punished, 
society  could  not  exist. 

To  seek  the  protection  of  the  law,  without,  at  the  same 
time,  indulging  in  malice,  this  is  self-defense,  and  the  de¬ 
fense  of  society.  No  person,  however,  should  in  any 
case  of  difficulty  resort  to  the  tribunal  of  public  justice 
till  every  other  method  of  adjustment  has  failed. 

391.  The  revealed  law  is  decidedly  opposed  to  Chris¬ 
tians  going  to  law  with  each  other,  as  we  learn  from  1  Cor. 
chap.  vi.  In  cases  of  difference  about  property  or  char¬ 
acter,  professed  Christians  are  thus* required  by  the  divine 
law,  to  settle  all  their  disputes  by  the  mediation  of  their 
own  brethren ;  and  if  either  party  decline  such  arbitra¬ 
tion,  he  must  be  accountable  for  all  the  scandal  thrown 


178 


THE  MEEKNESS  OF  LOVE. 


on  the  Christian  profession  by  the  legal  measures  to  which 
the  other  may  find  it  necessary  to  resort  for  the  protec¬ 
tion  of  his  rights.  Whatever  award  is  made,  in  the  case 
of  private  arbitration,  both  parties  should  abide  by  it ; 
nor  must  the  individual  against  whom  the  decision  is  made, 
feel  any  ill-will,  or  cherish  any  revenge  toward  his  suc¬ 
cessful  competitoi'. 

392.  The  law  of  love  requires  that  innumerable  minor 
offenses  should  be  passed  over  without  being  noticed,  or 
suffered  to  disturb  our  peace  of  mind.  And  those  which 
we  find  it  necessary  to  have  explained,  require  the  utmost 
caution  and  delicacy.  In  these  cases,  love  will  lead  us  to 
the  offender  in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  to  ask,  not  to  de¬ 
mand  an  explanation  of  the  injurious  treatment.  In  a 
great  majority  of  cases,  this  line  of  conduct  would  stifle 
the  animosity  while  it  is  yet  a  spark. 

Noble  Revenge. 

“  When  I  was  a  small  boy,  there  was  a  black  boy  in 
the  neighborhood,  by  the  name  of  ‘  Jim  Dick.’  My¬ 
self  and  a  number  of  my  playfellows  were  one  even¬ 
ing  collected  together  at  our  usual  sjiorts,  and  began 
tormenting  the  poor  colored  boy,  by  calling  him  ‘  black¬ 
amoor,’  ‘  niggar,’  and  other  degrading  epithets ;  the  poor 
fellow  appeared  excessively  grieved  at  our  conduct, 
and  soon  left  us.  We  soon  after  made  an  appointment 
to  go  a- skating  in  the  neighborhood,  and  on  the  day 
of  the  appointment  I  had  the  misfortune  to  break  my 
skates,  and  I  could  not  go  without  borrowing  a  pair  of 
Jim  Dick.  I  went  to  him  and  asked  him  for  them. 

‘  O  yes,  John,  you  may  have  them  and  welcome,’  was 
his  answer.  When  I  went  to  return  them,  I  found  Jim 
sitting  by  the  fire  in  the  kitchen,  reading  the  Bible.  I 
told  him  I  had  returned  his  skates,  and  was  under  great 
obligations  to  him  for  his  kindness.  He  looked  at  me  as 
be  took  the  skates,  and,  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  said  to 
me,  ‘  John,  don’t  never  call  me  a  blackamoor  again,’ 
and  immediately  left  the  room.  These  words  pierced 
my  heart,  and  I  burst  into  tears,  and  from  that  time 
resolved  not  to  abuse  a  poor  black  in  future.” — Southev. 

387.  What  three  things  will  love  prevent,  in  reference  to  the  irascible 
passions  here  alluded  to? 

388.  What  important  mistake  needs  correcting  with  regard  to  revenge  ? 


THE  KINDNESS  OF  LOVE. 


179 


389.  According  to  this  view,  are  we  not  forbidden  to  defend  our  per¬ 
sons,  our  property,  and  our  reputation,  from  the  aggressions  of  lawless 
mischief? 

390.  If  our  character  in  society  be  aspersed,  what  course  does  love 
allow  or  suggest  ? 

391.  As  it  respects  the  propriety  of  Christians  going  to  law  with  each 
other,  what  is  the  testimony  of  the  revealed  law  ? 

392.  What  does  the  law  of  love  require  in  regard  to  minor  offenses? 

SECTION  II.— ON  THE  KINDNESS  OF  LOVE. 

“  Charity  is  kind." 

393.  Kindness  is  a  disposition  to  please — an  anxiety, 
manifested  by  our  conduct,  to  promote  the  comfort  of 
our  species.  Pity  commiserates  their  sorrows,  mercy 
relieves  their  wants  and  mitigates  their  woes ;  but  kind¬ 
ness  is  a  general  attention  to  their  comfort. 

394.  (1.)  It  expresses  itself  in  words  that  are  calcu¬ 
lated  to  please.  As  not  only  our  words,  but  the  tones  of 
our  voice,  are  indicative  of  our  thoughts  and  feelings,  it 
is  of  consequence  for  us  to  be  careful,  both  in  what  we 
say,  and  how  we  say  it.  Half  of  the  quarrels  which  dis¬ 
turb  the  peace  of  society  arise  from  unkind  words,  and 
not  a  few  from  unkind  tones. 

(2.)  Kindness  extends  itself  to  actions.  It  is  anxious 
not  to  give  offense  by  anything  which  it  does  :  it  is  most 
tender  in  reference  to  the  feelings  of  its  object,  and 
would  not,  unnecessarily,  crush  the  wing  of  an  insect, 
much  less  inflict  a  wound  upon  a  rational  mind. 

There  are  persons  who,  in  a  spirit  of  selfish  inde¬ 
pendence,  care  not  whom  they  please,  or  whom  they 
offend ;  but  love  is  as  anxious  not  to  offend,  as  it  is  so¬ 
licitous  about  its  own  gratification  :  its  neighbor’s  com¬ 
fort  is  as  dear  to  it  as  its  own ;  it  calculates,  deliberates, 
weighs  the  tendency  of  actions  ;  and  when,  by  incaution, 
or  pure  misfortune,  it  has  occasioned  distress,  it  hastens, 
by  every  practicable  means,  to  heal  the  wound. 

Kindness  not  only  abstains  from  actual  injury,  hut  it  is 
active  in  conferring  benefits  ;  watches  for  an  opportunity 
to  please ;  is  ever  ready  to  afford  its  assistance  when 
appealed  to ;  and  is  not  satisfied,  unless  it  can  do  some¬ 
thing  to  increase  the  general  stock  of  comfort.  It  accom¬ 
modates  itself  to  men’s  habits,,  partialities,  or  prejudices  ; 
adapts  itself,  in  things  indifferent  and  lawful,  to  their  modes 
of  acting,  and  does  not  wantonly  oppose  their  predilec¬ 
tions,  when  such  resistance  would  occasion  them  distress. 


180 


THE  CONTENTMENT  OF  LOVE. 


It  extends,  of  course,  to  little  things,  as  well  as  to  great 
ones.  The  daily,  and  almost  hourly  reciprocity  of  little 
acts  of  good  or  ill  will,  which  we  have  an  opportunity  of 
performing,  goes  a  great  way  to  the  making  up  of  good 
or  bad  neighborhood. 

Kindness  is  universal  in  its  objects.  There  is  a  kind¬ 
ness  merely  of  barter  and  not  of  charity,  being  exercised 
only  toward  those  from  whom  we  expect  a  corres^ 
pondent  return  :  but  love  is  universal,  it  is  ever  ready  to 
do  a  kind  office  for  any  one  that  either  solicits,  or  needs 
its  assistance.  It  has  a  kind  word,  look,  and  act  for 
everybody.  Nor  are  its  enemies  denied  the  assistance 
of  its  efforts. 

What  a  fascinating  character  is  the  man  of  distin¬ 
guished  kindness!  he  is  invested  with  indescribable  love¬ 
liness.  While  he  lives,  every  man  is  his  admirer;  and 
when  he  dies,  every  man  is  his  mourner:  while  he  is  on 
earth,  his  name  has  a  home  in  every  heart;  and  when  he 
is  gone,  he  has  a  monument  in  every  memory. 

393.  What  is  meant  by  kindness? 

394.  In  what  maimer  does  kindness  act  ? 

SECTION  III.— THE  CONTENTMENT  OF  LOVE. 

“  Charity  imvieth  not." 

395.  Envy  is  that  passion  which  causes  us  to  feel  un¬ 
easiness  at  the  sight  of  another’s  possessions  or  happiness, 
and  which  makes  us  dislike  him  on  that  account.  Of  all 
the  base  passions,  this  is  the  basest.  It  is  the  very  oppo¬ 
site  of  love. 

396.  It  stands  directly  opposed  to  the  nature  of  God, 
whose  love  delights  in  excellence  and  in  happiness. 

It  is  an  incessant  quarrel  with  Providence — with  the 
wisdom,  equity,  and  goodness  of  the  divine  administration. 

It  is  a  parent  crime,  and  its  progeny  are  as  mis¬ 
chievous  and  deformed  as  itself :  for  malice,  hatred, 
falsehood,  slander,  are  its  ordinary  brood  ;  and  not  un- 
frequently  murder. 

397.  Contentment  with  such  things  as  we  have  is  thc 
opposite  of  envy;  and  is  the  secret  of  happiness,  whether 
we  have  much  or  little.  The  contented  man  can  borrow 
the  joys  of  others  when  he  has  none,  or  few,  of  his  own ; 
and,  from  the  wilderness  of  his  own  situation,  enjoy  the 
beautiful  prospect  of  his  friend’s  domain. 


THE  HUMILITY  OF  LOVE. 


181 


395.  What  is  envy? 

396.  Whence  arises  the  hatefulness  of  envy  ? 

397.  What  is  the  opposite  of  envy  ? 

SECTION  IV.— THE  HUMILITY  OF  LOVE. 

“  Is  not  puffed  up — vaunteth  not  itself." 

398.  Pride  signifies  such  an  exalted  idea  of  ourselves 
as  leads  to  a  contempt  of  others,  and  makes  us  anxious  for 
applause.  It  is  therefoi’e  opposed  to  love. 

399.  Wealth,  talents,  learning,  ecclesiastical  connec¬ 
tions,  superior  light  on  the  subject  of  revealed  truth,  re¬ 
ligious  gifts,  deep  religious  experience,  zeal,  whether  in 
the  cause  of  humanity  or  of  piety,  are  the  usual  grounds 
of  pride. 

400.  Love  is  opposed  to  vanity  as  well  as  pride.  Love 
“  vaunteth  not  itself.”  It  does  not  boast  of,  nor  ostenta¬ 
tiously  display  its  possessions,  acquirements,  or  opera¬ 
tions.  There  is  a  great  disposition  among  men  to  boast 
of  their  property,  or  learning,  or  connections,  or  influence, 
or  usefulness. 

401.  Love  is  a  desire  to  pi'omote  the  happiness  of  those 
around  us  ;  but  proud  and  vain  persons  adopt  a  course 
which  materially  impairs  this  happiness.  They  generally 
excite  disgust,  frequently  offer  insult,  and  sometimes  in¬ 
flict  pain.  Their  object  is  to  impress  you  with  a  degrad¬ 
ing  sense  of  inferiority,  and  thus  to  wound  and  mortify 
your  feelings. 

Hence  love  must  be  attended  by  humility  ;  by  which 
is  meant,  not  meanness  or  sycophancy,  but  a  disposition 
to  think  lowly  of  our  attainments,  a  tendency  to  dwell 
upon  our  defects  rather  than  our  excellences  ;  an  appre¬ 
hension  of  our  own  inferiority  compared  with  what  we 
ought  to  be,  and  what  we  might  be.  It  is  always  at¬ 
tended  with  that  modest  deportment,  which  neither  boasts 
of  itself,  nor  seeks  to  depreciate  any  one. 

Divine  revelation  is  the  only  system  which,  either  in 
ancient  or  in  modern  times,  assigns  to  humility  the  rank 
of  a  virtue,  or  makes  provision  for  its  production  and  due 
cultivation. 


398.  What  is  pride  ? 

399.  What  are  the  usual  grounds  of  pride  ? 

400.  Is  not  love  opposed  to  vanity  as  well  as  to  pride  ? 

401.  How  does  love  operate  to  destroy  pride  and  vanity? 


182 


THE  DECORUM  OF  LOVE. 


SECTION  V.— THE  DECORUM  OF  LOVE. 

“  Doth  not  behave  itself  unseemly." 

402.  Love  leads  a  man  to  study  his  place  in  society 
and  to  keep  it ;  and  prevents  all  those  deviations  which, 
by  disarranging  the  order,  disturb  the  comfort  of  society. 

403.  Love  suggests  a  compendious  rule,  with  reference 
to  decorum.  “  A  station  for  every  person,  and  eveiy 
person  in  his  station :  a  time  for  every  proper  thing,  and 
every  such  thing  in  its  time  :  a  manner  for  everything, 
and  everything  in  its  manner.” 

404.  The  distinctions  existing  in  society  involve  a  cer¬ 
tain  line  of  conduct  that  may  be  termed  “  becomingness.” 
Among  these  we  shall  consider  the  distinctions  of  male 
and  female,  of  parents  or  guardians,  and  children,  of  su¬ 
periors  and  inferiors,  of  age  and  youth. 

405.  With  respect  to  the  distinction  of  male  and  female, 
the  decorum  of  love  requires  the  following  things  : — 

On  the  part  of  the  man,  if  he  be  single,  all  trifling  with 
the  affections,  all  familiarity  with  the  person,  all  taking 
advantage  of  the  weakness  of  the  other  sex,  is  explicitly 
forbidden  by  the  law  of  love  ;  as  is  all  neglect,  oppression, 
and  unkindness  toward  his  wife,  if  he  be  married. 

It  is  unseemly  on  the  j^art  of  a  husband,  to  becomo 
either  the  slave,  or  the  tyrant  of  his  wife  ;  it  is  disgusting 
to  see  him  abandoning  the  society  of  his  wife  for  the 
company  of  other  females,  and  flirting,  though  perhaps 
with  no  criminal  intention,  with  either  single  or  married 
women. 

On  the  other  hand,  it  is  equally  unseemly  in  unmarried 
women  to  indulge  in  a  bold  obtrusiveness  of  manner,  a 
clamorous  and  monopolizing  strain  of  conversation,  an 
evident  attempt  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  other  sex. 
And  women,  if  married,  should  be  stayers  at  home,  and 
not  gossips  abroad ;  should  look  well  to  the  ways  of  their 
household,  and  preside  over  its  affairs  in  the  meekness 
of  wisdom  :  for  domestic  indolence  and  neglect  is,  in  a 
wife  and  mother,  most  unseemly ;  nor  is  it  less  offensive 
to  see  the  female  head  of  a  family  usurping  the  seat  of 
government,  and  reducing  her  husband  to  the  rank  of 
mere  prime  minister  to  the  queen.  Women  never  act 
more  unseemly  than  when  they  become  busy,  meddling 
partisans,  either  in  politics  or  in  church  affairs. 


THE  DECORUM  OF  LOVE. 


183 


406.  The  law  of  love  requires  the  following  things  of 
parents,  guardians,  and  children  : — 

Under  the  influence  of  love,  fathers  will  neither  he  ty¬ 
rannical  nor  too  indulgent ;  and  becomingness  on  the  part 
of  children  requires  the  most  prompt  and  willing  obe¬ 
dience,  the  most  genuine  and  manifest  affection,  the  most 
respectful  and  humble  demeanor  toward  parents,  with  the 
most  anxious  and  ingenious  endeavoi's  to  promote  their 
happiness. 

It  is  excessively  unbecoming  to  hear  children  of  any 
age,  however  matured  or  advanced,  exposing,  perhaps 
ridiculing  their  parents’  infirmities,  treating  their  opin¬ 
ions  with  scorn,  and  reproving  or  upbraiding  them  to 
their  face.  It  should  be  recollected  by  all  young  people, 
that  whatever  may  be  the  character  of  a  parent, 

“  A  mother  is  a  mother  still. 

The  holiest  thing  alive.” 

407.  In  the  intercourse  of  superiors  and  inferiors,  digni¬ 
fied  affability  is  the  becomingness  of  superiority,  which, 
while  it  does  not  remove  the  line  of  distinction,  does  not 
render  it  painfully  visible.  Love  will  make  us  cautious 
not  to  wound  the  feelings  of  others  by  talking  to  them  of 
our  superiority,  or  by  making  them  in  any  way  feel  it. 

Incivility  or  rudeness,  on  the  other  hand,  manifested  by 
the  poor  to  the  rich,  by  servants  to  masters,  by  students 
to  their  instructors,  by  the  illiterate  to  the  well  informed, 
is  unfriendly  to  the  peace  and  good  order  of  society,  and, 
therefore,  contrary  to  Christian  charity. 

408.  With  regard  to  the  line  of  conduct  proper  to  age 
and  youth  respectively,  levity,  puerility,  and  folly  are 
among  the  qualities  which  would  be  indecorous  in  the 
former;  while  obtrusiveness,  forwardness,  loquaciousness, 
and  pertinacity  would  be  unseemly  in  the  latter.  Age, 
to  be  lovely,  should  treat  youth  with  kindness  and  for¬ 
bearance  ;  while  youth  should  treat  age  with  reverence, 
respect,  and  deference. 

Anything  unbecoming  is  sure  to  give  offense,  and  to 
produce  discomfort.  Men  are  united  in  society  like  the 
organs  and  limbs  in  the  human  body  ;  and  no  one,  in 
either  case,  can  be  put  out  of  its  place  without  producing 
uneasiness  in  the  rest.  The  object  of  love  is  to  keep  all 
in  their  proper  places,  and  thus  to  promote  the  well-being 
of  the  whole. 


18i 


THE  DISINTERESTEDNESS  OF  LOVE. 


409.  It  may  be  remarked,  that  love  does  not  allow  a 
professed  Christian  to  act  unworthy  of  bis  profession  as  a 
disciple  of  Christ  ;  for  such  conduct  would  be  unseemly, 
and  cause  pain  in  every  right-minded  beholder.  It  would 
also  excite  a  prejudice  against  religion,  and  thus  prevent 
worldly  men  from  embracing  it,  and  thereby  securing 
everlasting  happiness.  It  also  tends  to  awaken  a  preju¬ 
dice  against  Christians  generally,  and  thus  to  injure  their 
happiness  and  usefulness. 

402.  What  has  love  to  do  with  decorum;  and  what  does  this  term 
imply  ? 

403.  What  compendious  rule  does  love  suggest  or  sanction,  with  refer¬ 
ence  to  decorum  ? 

404.  What  are  some  of  the  distinctions  of  society  which  involve  a  cer¬ 
tain  line  of  conduct  that  may  be  termed  “  becoiningness  ?” 

405.  What  line  of  conduct  befits  the  distinction  of  male  and  female  ? 

406.  What  conduct  does  love  dictate  as  suitable  to  parents  or  guardians, 
and  children? 

407.  What  conduct  does  love  dictate  as  suitable  to  superiors  and  infe¬ 
riors  ? 

408.  What  is  a  suitable  or  becoming  line  of  conduct  on  the  part  of  age 
and  youth  respectively  ? 

409.  What  conduct  is  unseemly  in  a  professed  Christian? 

SECTION  VI.— THE  DISINTERESTEDNESS  OF  LOVE. 

“  Seeketh  not  her  own.” 

410.  In  oppo.sition  to  the  claim  of  disinterested  love,  it 
has  been  argued,  that  we  take  delight  in  the  happiness 
of  others,  because  their  happiness  increases  our  own. 

In  confutation,  however,  of  this  argument,  it  may  be 
observed,  that  the  circumstance  of  our  happiness  being 
increased  by  promoting  theirs,  is  itself  a  convincing  proof 
of  the  existence  and  exercise  of  an  antecedent  good-will 
toward  them.  Our  felicity  is  raised  by  theirs.  Why  'I 
Because  we  love  them.  Why  am  I  made  unhappy  by 
the  sight  of  another’s  woe  ]  Because  I  have  a  good-will 
to  the  subject  of  distress. 

411.  Selfishness  and  self-love  are  not  to  he  covfoimded. 
By  selfishness,  we  mean  such  a  regard  to  our  own  things, 
as  is  inconsistent  with,  and  destructive  of,  a  right  regard 
to  the  things  of  others ;  whereas  by  self-love,  we  mean 
nothintr  more  than  that  attention  to  our  own  affairs  which 
we  owe  to  ourselves  as  part  of  universal  being. 

Selfishness  means  the  neglect  or  injury  of  others,  in 
order  to  concentrate  our  views,  and  desires,  and  pursuits, 
in  ourselves ;  while  self-love  means  only  that  proper  and 


THE  DISINTERESTEDNESS  OF  LOVE. 


1S5 


due  regard  to  our  own  interests  which  we  may  pay, 
without  the  neglect  or  injury  of  our  neighbor. 

412.  In  regard  to  the  tendencies  of  selfishness,  its  worst 
feature  is,  that  it  leads  men  to  seek  their  own  interests 
in  opposition  to  the  interests  of  others. 

Sometimes  it  causes  its  subjects  only  to  neglect  the 
things  of  others.  They  do  not  oppress,  or  injure,  calum¬ 
niate,  or  despoil ;  but  they  are  so  engrossed  by  self- 
interest,  as  to  be  utterly  regardless  of  the  miseries  or 
comfort  of  which  they  cannot  avoid  being  the  spectatoi's. 
Tlwsir  highest  boast  and  attainment  in  virtue  is,  to  wrong 
none.  To  do  good,  enters  not  into  their  idea  of  morality. 

A  man  is  guilty  of  selfishness,  if  he  seeks  his  own 
things  out  of  all  proportion  to  the  regard  he  pays  to  the 
things  of  others. 

Selfishness  sometimes  seeks  its  own,  under  the  pretense 
and  jjrofession  of  promoting  the  happiness  of  others.  Large 
sacrifices  of  wealth,  and  time,  and  ease,  and  feeling,  are 
often  readily  made  for  applause. 

413.  In  regard  to  the  following  classes  of  objects, 
selfishness  is  exhibited : — 

(1.)  ^Property.  It  shows  itself  in  an  anxiety  to  obtain 
wealth,  and  an  unwillingness  to  part  with  it ;  a  dispo¬ 
sition  greedy  as  the  sea,  and  barren  as  the  shore. 

(2.)  In  regard  to  Opinion.  It  is  selfishness  that  leads 
any  one  to  wish  that  he  should  dictate  to  the  rest ;  that 
his  opinion  should  be  law ;  and  his  wishes  be  consulted 
and  obeyed.  This  is  not  love.  Love  gives  up  her  own, 
where  conscience  does  not  interfere  to  forbid  it,  Eind 
meekly  and  quietly  resigns  its  wishes  to  increase  peace 
and  promote  harmony ;  its  object  is  the  public  good. 

(3.)  Selfishness  is  often  displayed  in  habits  of  general 
conduct  which  are  exceedingly  annoying  to  others.  There 
is  a  regard  to  their  appetite,  ease,  or  humor,  which  many 
indulge  to  the  annoyance  of  their  neighbors,  and  which 
they  indulge  against  the  remonstrances  of  those  who 
suffer.  That  regard  to  our  comfort  which  leads  us  to 
neglect  or  sacrifice  the  felicity  of  another,  let  the  object 
to  which  it  is  directed  be  what  it  may,  is  the  selfishness 
which  love  would  oppose  and  destroy. 

414.  Under  false  names  and  disguises,  selfishness 
sometimes  conceals  itself,  and  then  escapes  much  of  the 
obloquy  it  deserves.  The  plea  of  frugality,  of  a  just 


186 


THE  UNSUSPICIOUSNESS  OF  LOVE. 


regard  to  the  claims  of  a  family ;  the  pretension  of  acting 
for  the  glory  of  God,  and  for  the  public  good — the  pre¬ 
text  of  a  regard  for  the  truth — all  these  are  often  made 
the  cover  of  unmixed  selfishness. 

415.  Selfishness  is  a  great  evil.  It  is  opposite  to 
divine  benevolence,  and  contrary  to  the  temper  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  “who  pleased  not  himself.”  It  is  the 
source  of  innumerable  vices.  It  is  a  rejection  of  all  the 
claims,  and  an  opposition  to  all  the  ends  and  Interests,  of 
society. 

This  disposition  defeats  its  own  end.  There  is  great 
joy  in  love  ;  and,  of  coui'se,  in  proportion  as  we  extend 
the  range  and  multiply  the  objects  of  our  love,  we  extend 
the  range  and  multiply  the  objects  of  our  happiness.  He 
that  loves  only  himself,  has  only  one  joy ;  he  that  loves 
his  neighbor,  has  many. 

Rouse  to  some  work  of  high  and  holy  love. 

And  thou  an  angel’s  happiness  shall  know, — 

Shalt  bless  the  earth  while  in  the  world  above ; 

The  good  begun  by  thee  shall  onward  flow 
In  many  a  branching  stream,  and  wider  grow  ; 

The  seed  that,  in  these  few  and  fleeting  hours. 

Thy  hands  unsparing  and  unwearied  sow. 

Shall  deck  thy  grave  with  amaranthine  flowers. 

And  yield  thee  fruits  divine  in  heaven’s  immortal  bowers. 

Wilcox. 


410.  What  objection  has  been  made  to  the  claim  of  disinterested  love? 

411.  How  are  selfishness  and  self-love  distinguished? 

412.  What  are  the  tendencies  of  selfishness  ? 

413.  In  regard  to  what  subjects  is  selfishness  indulged? 

414.  Under  what  false  names  and  disguises  does  selfishness  sometimes 
conceal  itself,  and  escape  much  of  the  obloquy  it  deserves  ? 

415.  In  what  consists  the  evil  of  selfishness  ? 


SECTION  VII.— THE  UNSUSPICIOUSNESS  OF  LOVE. 

“  Tkinketh  no  evil.” 

416.  Various  senses  maybe  attached  to  this  definition 
of  love. 

(1.)  It  does  not  desire  evil.  There  are  many  who 
maintain  outwardly  a  tolerably  respectable  character,  but 
are  still  far  too  busy  in  devising  evil. 

Desire  of  gain  may  lead  them  to  devise  means  by  which 
they  may  injure  a  more  prosperous  neighbor,  a  more 
thriving  tradesman  than  themselves. 

Or,  they  may  be  moved  by  envy  to  devise  means  for 


THE  UNSUSPICIOUSNESS  OF  LOVE. 


187 


blasting  the  reputation  of  a  popular  rival,  or  at  least  to 
render  him  less  a  favorite  with  the  public. 

A  love  of  sporting  with  the  fears  of  the  timid  and  the 
weak  has  led  some  to  delight  in  finding  means  for  ex- 
citing  their  alarms:  they  do  not  desii’e  to  inflict  pain  so 
much  from  a  malignity  of  disposition,  as  from  a  wanton 
pleasure  in  raising  a  joke. 

It  is  dreadful  that  the  human  intellect  should  ever  he 
employed  in  devising  evil:  and  yet,  passing  by  the  cabi¬ 
nets  of  statesmen,  where  hostile  and  unprincipled  aggres¬ 
sions  are  so  often  planned  against  a  weaker  state  ;  and  the 
closets  of  monarchs,  where  schemes  which  are  to  entail 
the  horrors  of  war  upon  millions  are  contrived  without 
compunction ;  and  the  slave-merchant’s  cabin,  where  the 
details  are  arranged  for  burning  peaceful  villages,  and 
dragging  into  captivity  their  unoffending  inhabitants  ;  and 
the  robber’s  cave,  the  murderer’s  chamber,  and  the 
swindler’s  retreat :  passing  by  these  haunts  of  demons, 
where  the  master-spirits  of  mischief  hold  their  conclave, 
and  digest  their  dark  and  horrid  purposes,  what  a  pro¬ 
digious  movement  of  mind  is  perpetually  going  on  among 
the  subalterns  ! 

To  all  these  persons,  and  to  all  this  their  conduct,  love 
is  diametrically  opposed.  It  thinketh  not  evil,  but  good  ; 
it  deviseth  to  communicate  pleasure,  not  pain.  It  would 
make  the  miserable  happy,  and  the  happy  still  happier. 
It  deviseth  good  upon  its  bed,  and  riseth  in  the  morning 
to  fulfill  the  plans  of  mercy  with  which  it  had  sunk  to  rest. 

(2.)  But  probably  Paul  meant  that  it  does  not  impute 
evil.  It  is  not  in  haste  to  criminate,  as  if  it  were  its  de¬ 
light  to  prove  men  wicked,  but  is  willing  to  impute  a 
good  motive  to  men’s  actions,  till  a  bad  one  is  clearly 
demonstrated. 

We  are  too  forward  to  suspect  the  piety  of  our  neigh¬ 
bors  ;  and  also  to  impute  bad  motives  to  particular  actions. 

When  an  action  is  good,  it  is  too  often  ascribed  to 
some  sinister  motive  :  when  of  a  doubtful  nature,  we  are 
too  apt  to  lose  sight  of  the  evidence  in  favor  of  its  being 
done  with  a  good  motive. 

417.  The  evil  of  suspiciousness  is  discernible  in  the 
fact,  that  it  disturbs  the  peace  of  society ;  for  if  men 
think  evil,  it  is  an  easy  step  to  speak  evil,  and  then  to  do 
evil,  so  that  the  origin  of  many  quarrels  will  be  found  in 


188 


THE  JOY  OF  LOVE. 


the  false  impi’essions  of  a  suspicious  mind — the  misap¬ 
prehension  of  a  censorious  judgment. 

But  love  “  thinketh  no  evil.”  She  delights  to  speak 
well  and  think  well  of  others  :  she  says  little  or  nothing, 
except  when  necessity  compels  her,  of  their  bad  actions. 
She  imputes  not  evil  so  long  as  good  is  probable ;  she 
makes  every  allowance  that  truth  will  permit ;  suffers 
not  her  opinions  to  be  formed  till  she  has  had  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  escape  from  the  mist  of  passion. 

416.  What  senses  may  be  attached  to  this  definition  of  love  ? 

417.  Wherein  consists  the  evil  of  suspiciousness  ? 


SECTION  VIII.— THE  JOY  OF  LOVE. 

“  Rcjoiceth  not  in  iniquity,  but  rejoiceth  in  the  truth." 

418.  Love  does  not  rejoice  in  iniquity — in  that  which 
is  wrong. 

Love  cannot  delight  m  the  misconduct  of  an  enemy  or  a 
rival ;  this  is  perhaps  the  precise  meaning  of  the  apostle. 
It  cannot  tempt  him  to  sin,  in  order  to  gain  the  advantage 
over  him,  nor  can  it  emjdoy  or  encourage  others  to  tempt 
him  for  the  same  purpose.  Nor  will  love  entertain  a 
delight  in  seeing  an  enemy  or  a  rival  fall  into  miscon¬ 
duct,  by  other  means ;  nor  in  seeing  him  injured  in  a 
way  similar  to  that  in  which  he  may  have  injured  us. 

419.  On  the  other  hand,  the  apostle  informs  us  that 
love  “  rejoices  in  the  truth,”  in  conduct  that  is  conformed 
to  the  precepts  of  revealed  truth,  in  a  virtuous  and  up¬ 
right  course.  Love  rejoices  not  in  the  vices,  but  in  the 
virtues- of  others. 


418.  In  what  does  love  not  rejoice  ? 

419.  In  what,  on  the  other  hand,  does  love  rejoice  ? 


SECTION  IX.— THE  CANDOR  OF  LOVE. 

“  Beareth  all  things." 

420.  The  candor  of  love  stands  opposed  to  slander, 
detraction,  and  censoriousness. 

421.  Slander  is  the  circulation  of  a  false  report,  with 
the  intention  of  injuring  a  neighbor’s  reputation.  Its 
most  vicious  excess  is  the  invention  and  construction  of  a 
story  which  is  false  from  beginning  to  end.  Its  next 
lower  grade,  though  little  inferior  in  criminality,  is  to 


THE  CANDOR  OF  LOVE. 


189 


become  the  p7‘opagator  of  the  tale,  knowing  it  to  be  false. 
The  next  operation  of  slander  is  to  receive  and  spread, 
without  examining  into  the  truth  of  them,  false  and  in¬ 
jurious  reports.  Sometimes  it  withers  the  reputation  of 
a  neighbor  by  rash  speaking,  or  vehemently  affirming 
things  which  it  has  no  reason  to  believe,  and  no  motive 
for  affirming,  but  the  hope  of  exciting  ill-will. 

422.  Slander  possesses  the  following  attributes : — It  is 
sinful,  because  foi'bidden  and  denounced  in  every  part  of 
Scripture  ;  cruel,  because  it  is  robbing  our  neighbor  of 
that  which  is  dearer  to  him  than  life  ;  and  foolish,  be¬ 
cause  it  subjects  the  calumniator  himself  to  all  kinds  of 
inconvenience  and  trouble. 

423.  Detraction,  or  backbiting,  closely  resembles  slan¬ 
der.  A  detractor’s  aim  is  the  same  as  the  slanderer’s, 
but  he  avails  himself  of  means  a  little  different.  He 
represents  persons  and  things  under  the  most  disad¬ 
vantageous  circumstances  he  can,  setting  forth  those 
which  may  make  them  appear  guilty  or  ridiculous,  and 
throwing  into  the  shade  such  as  are  commendable.  He 
misconstrues  doubtful  actions  unfavorably,  and  throws 
over  the  very  virtues  of  his  neighbors  the  name  of  faults; 
calling  the  sober,  sour ;  the  conscientious,  morose ;  the 
devout,  superstitious ;  the  frugal,  sordid ;  the  cheerful, 
frivolous  ;  and  the  reserved,  crafty. 

424.  It  is  a  crime  compounded  of  the  ingredients  of 
ill-humor,  pride,  selfishness,  envy,  malice,  folly,  cowardice, 
and  falsehood. 

425.  Censoriousness  is  a  child  of  the  same  family,  but 
varies  from  the  others  by  acting  not  so  much  in  the  way 
of  reporting  faults,  as  in  condemning  them. 

It  means  a  disposition  to  scrutinize  men’s  motives,  to 
pass  sentence  upon  their  conduct,  to  reproach  their 
faults,  accompanied  by  an  unwillingness  to  make  all 
reasonable  allowances  for  their  mistakes,  and  a  tendency 
to  the  side  of  severity  rather  than  leniency. 

426.  What  is  to  be  condemned,  is,  needlessly  inquir¬ 
ing  into  the  conduct  and  motives  of  other  men ;  examin¬ 
ing  and  arraigning  them  at  our  bar,  when  we  stand  in  no 
relation  to  them  that  demands  such  scrutiny ;  delivering 
an  opinion  when  it  is  not  called  for;  pronouncing  sentence 
with  undue  severity. 

427.  In  opposition  to  slander,  detraction,  and  censo- 


190 


THE  CANDOR  OF  LOVE. 


riousness,  the  influence  of  love,  in  view  of  the  conduct  of 
others,  may  be  embraced  in  the  following  particulars  : — 

(1.)  Love  is  a  long  time  before  it  allows  itself  to  perceive 
the  faults  of  others;  while  slander  and  detraction  are 
quick  to  descry  imperfections  as  soon  as  they  appear  in 
the  conduct  of  others. 

(2.)  When  love  is  obliged  to  admit  the  existence  of 
imperfections,  it  diminishes  as  much  as  possible  their  mag¬ 
nitude,  and  hides  them  as  much  as  it  is  lawful  from  its 
own  notice. 

(3.)  It  is  the  wish  and  the  act  of  love,  to  conceal  from 
the  public  all  the  faults,  which  the  good  of  the  offender, 
and  the  ends  of  public  justice,  do  not  require  to  be  dis¬ 
closed.  There  are  cases,  in  which  to  conceal  offenses, 
whatever  kindness  it  may  be  to  one,  would  be  unkindness 
to  many.  As  our  love  is  to  be  universal  as  well  as  partic¬ 
ular,  it  must  never  be  exercised  toward  individuals  in  a 
way  that  is  really  opposed  to  the  interests  of  the  community. 

There  are  some,  on  the  other  hand,  who  publish  the 
faults  of  others  under  the  hypocritical  pretense  of  lament¬ 
ing  over  them,  and  producing  in  others  a  caution  against 
the  same  thing,  with  many  expressions  of  pity  for  the 
offender.  Such  pity  might  be  shown  in  a  better  way. 

(4.)  Love  not  only  will  not  originate,  but  will  not  help 
to  circulate,  an  evil  report.  When  the  tale  comes  to 
her,  there,  at  least  in  that  direction,  it  will  stop. 

428.  The  evils  to  which  love  stands  opposed,  are, 
calumny,  which  invents  a  slanderous  report  to  injure  the 
reputation  of  another ;  detraction,  which  magnifies  a 
fault ;  censoriousness,  which  is  too  officious  and  too  rigid 
in  condemning  it ;  tale-bearing,  which  propagates  it ; 
curiosity,  which  desires  to  know  it ;  malignity ,  which 
takes  delight  in  it.  Of  this  list  of  vices,  calumny  is,  of 
course,  the  worst ;  but  a  tattling  disposition,  though  it 
may  have  little  of  the  malignity  of  slander,  is  a  servant  to 
do  its  work,  and  a  tool  to  perpetuate  its  mischief. 

“  Charity  believeth  all  things.” 

429.  Reference  is  here  made  to  all  things  which  are 
testified  concerning  our  brethren  ;  not,  however,  such  as 
are  testified  to  their  disadvantage,  but  in  their  favor. 
How  readily  does  a  fond  mother  believe  things  reported 
in  favor  of  her  child,  and  how  reluctantly  does  she  believe 


THE,  CANDOR  OP  LOVE. 


191 


what  is  said  to  its  disadvantage !  So  love  is  exhibited  in 
the  man  who  believeth  all  things  which  are  related  to  the 
advantage  of  others. 

430.  The  strongest  proof  of  love  in  the  exercise  of 
belief,  is,  when  it  leads  us  to  believe  all  good  reports  of 
an  enemy  or  a  rival.  Many  persons  can  believe  nothing 
good,  but  everything  bad,  of  those  whom  they  consider 
in  this  light. 

431.  Prejudice  has  neither  eyes  nor  ears  for  good; 
but  is  all  eye  and  ear  for  evil.  Its  influence  on  the 
judgment  is  prodigious. 

“  Charity  hopeth  all  things." 

432.  Hope  has  reference  here  to  the  good  which  is 
reported  to  exist  in  our  neighbors.  Tn  a  repo4t  of  a 
doubtful  matter,  where  the  evidence  ie  apparently  against 
an  individual,  love  will  still  hope  that  something  may  yet 
turn  up  to  his  advantage  ;  it  will  not  give  full  credit  to 
present  appearances,  however  indicative  they  may  seem 
to  be  of  evil,  but  hope,  even  against  hope,  for  the  best. 

If  the  action  itself  cannot  be  defended,  then  love  will 
hope  that  the  motive  was  not  bad  ;  that  ignorance,  not 
malice,  was  the  cause  of  the  transaction. 

Love  does  not  speedily  abandon  an  offender  in  despond¬ 
ency  ;  does  not  immediately  give  him  up  as  incorrigible, 
nor  soon  cease  to  employ  the  means  necessary  for  his 
reformation  ;  but  is  willing  to  expect  that  he  may  yet 
repent  and  improve,  however  discouraging  present  ap¬ 
pearances  may  be. 

433.  As  reasons  for  believing  and  hoping  all  things  for 
the  best,  we  should,  first,  consider  how  common  is  slander, 
detraction,  and  tale-bearing,  and  not  be  hasty,  therefore, 
in  foi'ming  an  opinion.  W e  know  that  every  case  has  two 
aspects  ;  and  we  know  the  folly  of  deciding  till  we  have 
heard  both  sides. 

Secondly,  we  are  in  danger  of  being  misled  in  our 
opinion  of  our  neighbor’s  conduct,  by  the  mischievous 
propensity  of  many  persons  to  exaggerate  everything 
they  relate. 

420.  To  what  vices  is  the  candor  of  love  opposed? 

421.  What  are  we  to  understand  by  slander? 

422.  What  are  some  of  the  attributes  of  slander  ? 

423.  In  what  consists  the  crime  of  detraction  ? 

424.  In  what  consists  the  criminality  of  detraction  ? 


192 


THE  SELF-DENIAL  OF  LOVE. 


425.  How  does  the  crime  of  censoriousness  differ  from  those  now  de¬ 
scribed  ? 

426.  Are  we  to  suppose  that  all  inspection  and  condemnation  of  the 
conduct  of  others  is  sin  ;  that  all  reproof  of  offenders  is  a  violation  of  the 
law  of  charity  ? 

427.  In  opposition  to  slander,  detraction,  and  censoriousness,  what  is 
the  influence  of  love  upon  us  in  view  of  the  conduct  of  others? 

428.  To  what  evils,  then,  have  we  shown  love  to  be  opposed  ? 

429.  What  things  are  referred  to  in  the  proposition — “  Charity  believeth 
all  things  ?” 

430.  Where  is  seen  the  strongest  proof  and  power  of  love,  in  this  mode 
of  its  operation  ? 

431.  What  is  the  nature  and  effect  of  prejudice? 

432.  To  what  does  the  hope  spoken  of  above,  refer,  and  what  has  love 
to  do  with  it  ? 

433.  What  reasons  are  there,  which  make  it  wise,  as  well  as  kind,  to 
believe  and  hope  all  things  for  the  best  ? 


SECTION  X.— THE  SELF-DENIAL  OF  LOVE. 

“  Endureth  all  things." 

434.  Love  is  patient  and  self-denying  in  pursuing  its 
design  to  relieve  the  wants,  assuage  the  sorrows,  reform 
the  vices,  and  allay  the  animosities  of  those  whose  good 
it  seeks.  To  do  good,  it  will  bear  with  the  infirmities  of 
the  meanest,  or  will  brave  the  scorn  and  fury  of  the 
mightiest. 

435.  The  difficulties,  the  discouragements,  the  provo¬ 
cations,  which  love  has  to  bear,  and  which  it  can  resist, 
are  the  following  : — 

(1.)  Sacrifices  of  ease,  of  time,  of  feeling,  and  of  property 
must  all  be  endured.  If  we  would  promote  the  happiness 
of  our  fellow-creatures,  it  must  be  by  parting  with  some¬ 
thing  or  other  that  is  dear  to  us.  If  we  would  lay  aside 
revenge  when  they  have  injured  us,  and  exercise  forgive¬ 
ness,  we  must  often  mortify  our  own  feelings.  If  we  would 
reconcile  the  differences  of  those  who  are  at  variance,  we 
must  give  up  our  time,  and  sometimes  our  comfort.  If 
we  would  assuage  their  griefs,  we  must  expend  our 
property.  If  we  would  reform  tbeir  wickedness,  we  must 
part  with  our  ease.  If  we  would,  in  short,  do  good  of 
any  kind,  we  must  be  willing  to  deny  ourselves,  and  bear 
labor  of  body,  and  pain  of  mind.  And  love  is  willing  to 
do  this  ;  it  braces  itself  for  labor,  arms  itself  for  conflict, 
prepares  itself  for  suffering ;  it  looks  difficulties  in  tbe 
face,  counts  the  cost,  and  heroically  exclaims,  “  None  of 
these  things  move  me,  so  that  I  may  diminish  the  evils, 
and  promote  the  happiness  of  others.” 


THE  SELF-DENIAL  OP  LOVE. 


193 


(2.)  Misconstruction  is  another  thing  that  love  endures. 
Love  goes  about  doing  good,  notwithstanding  the  ignorant 
or  the  malignant  perversion  of  its  motives  and  actions  on 
the  part  of  its  enemies. 

(3.)  Envy  is  another  of  the  evils  which  love  endures 
without  being  turned  aside  by  it.  To  be  good,  and  to  do 
good,  are  alike  the  objects  of  envy  with  some  persons. 

(4.)  Ingratitude  is  often  the  hard  usage  which  love  has 
to  sustain,  and  which  it  patiently  endures.  Many  persons 
do  not  know  their  benefactors,  many  more  will  not 
acknowledge  them,  and  others  will  not  reward  them  even 
with  the  cheap  offering  of  thanks.  These  things  arc 
enough  to  make  us  sick  of  the  world ;  yes,  but  ought  not 
to  make  us  weary  of  trying  to  mend  it ;  for  the  more 
ungrateful  it  is,  the  more  it  needs  our  benevolence. 

(5.)  Derision  is  often  employed  to  oppose  the  efforts  of 
love  by  all  the  artillery  of  scorn,  especially  when  love  is 
directed  to  the  advancement  of  religion  and  morality. 

(6.)  Want  of  success,  that  most  discouraging  considera¬ 
tion  to  activity,  is  not  sufficient  to  drive  it  from  the  field  ; 
but,  in  the  expectation  of  the  future  harvest,  it  continues 
to  plough  and  to  sow  in  hope. 

436.  As  instances  in  which  the  self-denial  of  love  has 
been  beautifully  exhibited,  we  may  contemplate  the  labors 
and  sufferings  of  Clarkson  in  the  endeavor  to  abolish  the 
slave-trade  ;  those  of  the  apostle  Paul  in  propagating  the 
gospel,  as  recorded  in  2  Cor.  xi. ;  but  above  all,  the 
labors  and  sufferings  of  the  living  personification  of  love, 
the  Son  of  God,  in  accomplishing  the  work  of  man’s 
redemption.  These  are  the  models  that  we  should  ever 
endeavor  to  copy. 

[This  chapter  has  been  drawn  from  John  A.  James’s  work  on  Christian 
Charity,  to  which  reference  may  be  made  for  a  more  full  discussion  of 
the  topics  embraced  in  it.] 


434.  What  is  implied  in  the  self-denial  of  love? 

435.  What  are  the  difficulties,  discouragements,  and  provocations,  that 
love  must  encounter  ? 

436.  What  instances  may  be  mentior»ed,  in  which  the  self-denial  of  love 
has  been  conspicuously  and  beautifully  exhibited? 


194 


LOVE  TO  MEN  AS  SENSITIVE  BEINGS. 


CHAPTER  III. 

LOVE  TO  MAN  VIEWED  UNDER  CERTAIN  GENERAL 
RELATIONS. 

437.  Man  may  be  considered  in  two  points  of  view  :  as 
possessed  of  a  hody,  which  is  susceptible  of  agreeable  or 
disagreeable  sensations;  and,  as  endued  with  a  mind, 
which  is  capable  of  endless  improvement  in  knowledge 
and  virtue,  and  which  is  destined  to  an  endless  existence. 
In  both  these  respects,  love  will  exert  its  powers  in  me¬ 
liorating  the  condition,  and  promoting  the  enjoyments  of 
mankind. 

I.  Love  to  our  Felloiv-men,  considered  as  Sensitive  Beings. 

438.  Man,  in  regard  to  his  corporeal  system,  is  subject 
to  various  sufferings  and  wants. 

(1.)  He  stands  in  need  of  food,  raiment,  comfortable 
lodging  and  accommodations,  light  to  cheer,  and  enable 
him  to  prosecute  his  employments,  pure  atmospheric  air 
to  invigorate  his  animal  system,  and  water  to  cleanse  and 
refresh  him. 

(2.)  He  is  exposed  to  corporeal  weakness,  and  to  mental 
imbecility;  to  pain  and  disease;  to  the  loss  of  one  or 
more  of  the  senses  ;  to  the  decrepitude  of  old  age. 

(3.)  He  is  also  exposed  to  the  afflictions  occasioned  by 
the  loss  of  friends  and  relatives  ;  to  dejection  of  mind,  to 
remorse  of  conscience,  to  doubt,  despondency,  and  des¬ 
pair  ;  to  anxieties,  vexations,  and  troubles  of  various  kinds. 

439.  Love  will  endeavor  to  supply  these  wants,  and  to 
assuage  and  relieve  these  sorrows. 

In  this  respect,  every  one,  however  low  his  situation  in 
life,  however  limited  the  range  of  his  knowledge,  and 
however  contracted  the  sjrhere  of  his  influence  may  be, 
has  it  in  his  power,  in  a  greater  or  less  degr'ee,  to  com¬ 
municate  blessinsrs  to  his  brethren  of  mankind. 

440.  He  can  visit  the  sick  bed  of  an  afflicted  neig-hbor; 
he  can  supply  a  cup  of  cold  water  to  his  parched  tongue  ; 
he  can  wipe  the  sweat  from  his  forehead  ;  he  can  smooth 
his  pillow;  ho  can  turn  him  round  on  his  bed  of  languish- 


LOVE  TO  MEN  AS  SENSITIVE  BEINGS. 


195 


iiig,  that  he  may  enjoy  a  more  comfortable  repose  ;  and 
he  can  cheer  him  by  those  expressions  of  tenderness  and 
affection,  which  have  a  tendency  above  all  other  acts  o5 
kindness  to  revive  the  downcast  spirit. 

441.  He  can  assist  his  neighbor  by  his  strength  or  by 
his  skill,  by  his  counsel  and  advice,  and  by  taking  a  lively 
interest  in  his  concerns.  He  can  promote  his  joy  by 
rejoicing  in  his  prosperity  and  success ;  by  assisting  him 
in  his  employment ;  by  rescuing  him  from  danger ;  by 
forgiving  the  injuries  he  may  have  inflicted,  and  by  lis¬ 
tening  with  patience  and  complacence  to  his  sentiments, 
complaints,  or  grievances. 

The  Widow's  Light-house. 

The  island  of  Rona  is  a  small  and  very  rocky  spot  of 
land,  lying  between  the  isle  Syke  and  the  main  land  of 
Applecross,  and  it  is  well  known  to  mariners  by  the 
rugged  and  dangerous  nature  of  its  coast.  There  is  a 
famous  place  of  refuge  in  its  southwestern  extremity, 
called  the  “  Muckle  Harbor,”  of  very  difflcult  access, 
however,  which,  strange  to  say,  is  easier  entered  by  night 
than  during  the  day.  At  the  extremity  of  this  hyper¬ 
borean  solitude  is  the  residence  of  a  poor  widow,  whose 
lonely  cottage  is  called  the  light-house,  from  the  fact  that 
she  uniformly  keeps  her  lamp  burning  in  her  little  window 
at  night.  By  keeping  this  light,  and  the  entrance  of  the 
harbor  open,  a  strange  vessel  may  enter  with  the  greatest 
safety. 

During  the  silent  watches  of  the  night,  the  widow  may 
be  seen,  like  Norma  of  the  Fitful  Head,  trimming  her 
little  lamp  with  oil,  fearful  that  some  frail  bark  may 
perish  through  her  neglect ;  and  for  this  she  receives  no 
manner  of  remuneration  ;  it  is  pure  and  unmingled  phi¬ 
lanthropy.  The  poor  woman’s  kindness  does  not  even 
rest  here,  for  she  is  unha])py  until  the  benumbed  and 
shivering  mariner  comes  ashore  to  share  her  little  hoard, 
and  recruit  himself  at  her  glowing  and  cheerful  fire,  and 
she  can  seldom  be  prevailed  upon  to  accept  any  reward. 
Sh«  has  saved  more  lives  than  Davy’s  lamp,  and  thousands 
of  pounds  to  the  underwriters.  The  poor  creature,  in 
her  younger  days,  witnessed  her  husband  struggling  with, 
and  swallowed  up  by  the  billows, 

“  In  sight  of  home  and  friends  that  thronged  to  save.” 


196 


LOVE  TO  MEN  AS  RATIONAL  BEINGS. 


This  circumstance  seems  to  have  prompted  her  present 
devoted  and  solitary  life,  in  which  her  only  enjoyment  is 
doing  good. 

442.  He  may  promote  the  happiness  of  his  neighbor 
in  a  negative  way,  by  not  injuring  him  in  his  character  or 
reputation  ;  by  not  standing  in  the  way  of  his  prosperity 
or  advancement ;  by  not  interrupting  him  in  his  innocent 
amusements ;  and  by  refraining  from  everything  that 
would  tend  to  injure  him  in  his  trade  or  profession. 

443.  Such  offices  every  one  has  it  in  his  power  to  be¬ 
stow,  and  upon  such  apparently  trivial  actions,  the  happi¬ 
ness  of  mankind  in  general  more  immediately  depends, 
than  on  many  of  those  legislative  arrangements  which 
arrest  the  attention  of  a  whole  empire.  For,  were  they 
universally  performed,  the  greater  part  of  the  miseries 
which  afflict  humanity  would  disappear  from  the  world. 

444.  Love,  under  the  advantages  of  a  high  degree  of 
intellectual  talent,  wealth,  and  influence,  will  endeavor  to 
counteract  public  evils,  and  to  promote  rational  schemes 
of  general  philanthropy.  Some  portions  of  society  labor 
under  many  physical  evils  and  inconveniences,  which 
tend  to  injure  their  health  and  their  comfort,  and  to  ob¬ 
struct  their  moral  and  intellectual  improvement.  Were 
the  comfort  of  such  portions  of  society  made  as  particular 
an  object  of  attention  as  the  acquisition  of  wealth,  every 
obstacle  to  its  accomplishment  would  soon  be  removed. 

11. — hove  to  our  Fellow-men,  considered  as  Rational  and 
Immortal  Beings. 

Man  is  a  rational  and  immortal,  as  well  as  a  sensitive 
being,  and  therefore  the  operations'  of  love  will  have  for 
their  ultimate  object  the  promotion  of  his  best  interests 
as  a  moral  and  intellectual  agent,  and  as  an  heir  of  im¬ 
mortality. 

445.  In  all  ages,  menial  darkness  has  enveloped  the 
greater  portion  of  our  race  :  the  grossest  ignorance  of 
the  most  important  truths,  accompanied  with  the  most 
degrading  affections  and  superstitions,  still  prevails 
among  the  greater  part  of  men,  our  own  proud  land  not 
excepted.  Multitudes  of  the  young,  both  in  city  and 
country,  ai'e  suffered  to  shoot  up  from  infancy  to  man¬ 
hood  as  if  they  were  mere  animal  existences,  ignorant 
of  the  character  and  operations  of  God,  of  the  duties  they 


LOVE  TO  MEN  A3  IMMORTAL.  197 

owe  to  their  Creator  and  to  one  another,  and  of  the 
eternal  state  of  existence  to  which  they  are  destined. 

446.  Love  to  man,  as  an  intellectual  being,  will  lead 
to  the  erection  of  seminaries  of  instruction  where  they 
are  needed,  and  it  will  employ  every  suitable  method  of 
diffusing  knowledge,  and  of  imparting  a  useful  education. 

It  will  not  confine  its  attention  to  the  instruction  of  the 
young,  but  will  endeavor,  by  writing,  by  conversation, 
by  actions,  by  lending  and  circulating  books,  by  estab¬ 
lishing  public  libraries,  and  similar  methods,  to  diffuse 
the  rays  of  intellectual  light  among  men  of  all  ages, 
ranks,  and  professions,  till  ignorance,  with  its  degrading 
accompaniments,  shall  be  banished  from  society. 

In  a  word,  it  will  endeavor  to  make  every  branch  of 
knowledge  subservient  to  the  illustration  of  the  character 
and  the  revelation  of  God,  and  to  the  preparing  of  man¬ 
kind  for  the  employments  of  that  nobler  state  of  existence 
to  which  they  may  aspire. 

447.  In  view  of  his  immortal  nature,  involved,  as  it  is, 
in  moral  degradation,  it  becomes  one  of  the  highe.st  offices 
of  love  to  promote  its  eternal  well-being,  which  is  jeop¬ 
arded  by  ignorance  and  by  depravity  of  heart  and  life. 

The  man  of  enlightened  benevolence  will  not  rest 
satisfied  with  prayers  and  wishes  for  the  salvation  of 
men;  so  far  as  the  circle  of  his  influence  extends  he  will 
endeavor  to  instruct  the  ignorant,  to  arouse  the  reckless, 
to  reclaim  the  dissipated,  to  convince  the  skeptic,  to  train 
up  the  young  in  the  knowledge  of  God  and  in  the  paths 
of  virtue,  and  to  encourage  and  animate  every  one  who 
is  inquiring  the  way  of  life. 

448.  He  will  give  due  encouragement,  by  his  advice 
and  by  his  wealth,  to  Christian  churches,  and  to  faithful, 
pious,  and  intelligent  ministers  of  religion.  He  will 
patronize  every  rational  scheme  for  the  propagation  of 
the  Christian  religion  among  the  nations.  He  will 
encourage  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  the 
languages  of  all  kindreds  and  tribes  :  he  will  give  counte¬ 
nance  to  societies  formed  for  circulating  the  Bible  in 
foreign  lands  and  in  his  own  :  and  he  will  assist  in  send¬ 
ing  forth  intelligent  and  philanthropic  missionaries  to 
unenlightened  tribes,  for  the  purpose  of  diffusing  the 
blessings  of  knowledge,  civilization,  and  religion. 

He  will  also  set  himself  in  opposition  to  every  species 


198 


THE  TEN  REVEALED  PRECEPTS. 


of  bigotry  and  intolerance,  and  to  all  those  petty  jealousies 
and  bitter  animosities  which  have  so  long  distracted  the 
Cliristian  church,  which  have  thrown  odium  on  its 
character,  and  prevented  the  harmonious  intercourse 
and  cooperation  of  the  followers  of  Jesus. 

[Dick’s  Philosophy  of  Religion.] 

437.  Tn  what  two  points  of  view  may  man  be  considered  ? 

438.  In  regard  to  man’s  corporeal  system,  what  are  some  of  the  princi¬ 
pal  wants  that  require  to  be  supplied,  and  what  are  the  more  common  and 
painful  sufferings  which  require  to  be  alleviated? 

439.  In  reference  to  these  wants  and  suli'erings,  what  are  the  operations 
of  love,  when  genuine  and  ardent? 

440.  What  can  such  a  man  do  for  this  object? 

441.  What  further  can  he  do  ? 

442.  How  may  a  man  promote  the  happiness  of  his  neighbor  even  in  a 
negative  way  ? 

413.  What  importance  is  to  be  attached  to  such  offices  of  love? 

444.  In  cases  where  a  high  degree  of  intellectual  talent,  of  wealth  and 
influence  is  possessed,  may  not,  and  will  not  love  take  a  wider  range  in 
its  beneficent  operation  ? 

445.  When  we  consider  man  as  an  intellectual  being,  standing  in  vari¬ 
ous  important  relations  to  his  God,  and  to  his  fellow-creatures,  what  are 
some  of  the  numerous  evils  that  are  to  be  remedied  ? 

446.  How  will  love  to  man  as  an  intellectual  being  operate  to  the  re¬ 
moval  of  the  ignorance  that  prevails? 

447.  As  man  is  possessed,  also,  of  an  immortal  nature,  to  what  exertions 
will  love  prompt  us  ? 

448.  What  further  action  will  the  man  of  enlightened  benevolence  and 
philanthropy  be  disposed  to  adopt  ? 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  TEN  REVEALED  PRECEPTS  OF  HUMAN  DUTY. 

We  have  already  considered  tbe  duty  of  man  as  incul¬ 
cated  in  the  two  fundamental  precepts  of  love  to  God,  and 
to  our  neighbor  ;  also  the  explanation  of  the  latter  in  what 
has  been  called  the  Golden  Rule,  and  in  the  apostle  Paul’s 
description  of  the  duty  of  charity,  or  love. 

Love  to  our  Maker  and  to  our  fellow-men,  is  the  prin¬ 
ciple  of  obedience.  Our  various  duties  are  merely  the 
development  of  it.  “  On  these  two  commandments  hang 
all  the  law  and  the  prophets  that  is,  the  precepts  deliv¬ 
ered  in  the  Pentateuch,  and  in  the  prophetical  writings, 
delineate  the  different  modes  in  which  love  to  God  and 
to  man  is  expressed,  and  they  will  be  obeyed  by  every 
man  in  whom  this  love  exists. 


DELIVERY  OF  THE  LAW  AT  SINAI. 


199 


It  is  the  design  of  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament  dis¬ 
pensation  to  illustrate  and  enforce  these  laws,  and  to  pro¬ 
duce  all  those  excellent  tempers  which  are  embraced  in 
the  love  of  God  and  of  our  neighbor.  This  appears  to  be 
the  grand  object  of  all  the  historical  facts,  religious  insti¬ 
tutions,  devotional  exercises,  moral  maxims,  prophecies, 
exhortations,  promises,  and  threatenings,  which  it  records. 

These  principles,  now  that  they  are  communicated  and 
sanctioned  by  divine  authority,  appear  quite  accordant  to 
the  dictates  of  enlightened  reason,  and  calculated  to  pro¬ 
mote  the  happiness  of  the  intelligent  creation  ;  yet  we 
never  find  that  the  moral  systems  of  pagan  philosophers, 
in  any  country,  were  built  on  this  foundation,  or  that  they 
assumed  them  as  indispensable  axioms  to  guide  them  in 
their  speculations  on  the  subject  of  ethics. 

The  most  important  precepts  of  the  Pentateuch,  or  Five 
Books,  written  by  Moses,  exclusive  of  the  two  already  re¬ 
ferred  to,  are  the  teii  precepts  or  commandments,  often 
called  the  Decalogue  or  Moral  Law,  recorded  in  the 
twentieth  chapter  of  the  book  of  Exodus. 

SECTION  I.— CIRCUMSTANCES  IN  WHICH  THE  MORAL  LAW  WAS 
DELIVERED  AT  MOUNT  SINAI. 

449.  It  may,  and  should  serve  as  an  incitement  to  study 
the  moral  law  with  deeper  interest,  and  to  obey  it  with 
the  greater  diligence  and  cai’e,  to  consider  and  appi’eciate 
those  circumstances  of  awful  grandeur  and  of  supernatu¬ 
ral  displays,  in  the  midst  of  which  this  celebrated  law  was 
originally  delivered  to  men.  A  just,  perhaps.,  though  still 
inadequate  idea  of  those  circumstances  may  be  acquired 
from  the  following  admirable  sketch  by  the  Rev.  J.  T. 
Headly,  extracted  and  condensed,  from  the  New-York 
Observer  of  Feb.  28,  1846.  It  would  be  well,  first,  how¬ 
ever,  to  read  the  more  brief,  and  perhaps  even  more  im¬ 
pressive  account  given  us  by  God  himself,  by  the  pen  of 
Moses,  and  which  is  recorded  in  the  nineteenth  chapter 
of  the  book  of  Exodus, 

450.  “  Standing  in  the  midst  of  some  of  the  most  deso¬ 
late  scenery  in  the  world.  Mount  Sinai  lifts  its  huge  form 
into  the  heavens,  like  some  monster  slumbering  in  con¬ 
scious  strength.  Its  bald  and  naked  summit,  its  barren 
and  rocky  sides,  and  all  its  somber  features,  correspond 
perfectly  to  the  surrounding  scene.  It  is  a  wild  and  des- 


200  DELIVERY  OF  THE  LAW  AT  SINAI. 

olate  spot;  and  were  there  even  no  associations  connect¬ 
ed  with  it,  the  loneliness  and  gloom  that  surround  it  would 
airest  the  traveler,  and  cause  him  to  remember  it  long 
afterward.  But  Mount  Sinai  has  associations  with  the 
divine  instructions  given  on  its  summit,  which  render  it 
chief  among  the  sacred  mountains. 

“  Behold  the  white  tents  of  Israel,  scattered  like  snow¬ 
flakes  at  the  base  of  that  treeless,  barren  mountain.  The 
hum  of  a  mighty  population  is  there,  and  those  flowing 
tents  on  which  the  parting  sun  is  leaving  his  farewell  glo¬ 
ries  are  the  only  pleasing  objects  that  meet  the  eye  in  this 
dreary  region.  A  solemn  hush  is  upon  everything  as  the 
moon  sails  up  the  heavens,  flooding  with  her  gentle  light 
the  tented  host.  Moses  has  declared  that  on  the  third 
morning  the  eternal  God  is  to  place  his  feet  on  that  dis¬ 
tant  mountain-top  in  presence  of  all  the  people.  Awe¬ 
struck  and  expectant,  the  sons  of  Jacob  go  from  tent  to 
tent  to  speak  of  this  strange  event,  and  then  come  out  and 
look  on  the  mysterious  mountain  on  which  it  is  to  trans¬ 
pire.  Unconscious  of  its  high  destiny,  the  distant  sum¬ 
mit  leans  against  the  solemn  sky,  and  nothing  there  beto¬ 
kens  preparation  for  the  stupendous  scene.  But  at  length 
the  morning  comes,  and  that  vast  encampment  is  filled 
with  the  murmur  of  the  moving  multitude,  all  turned 
anxiously  to  distant  Sinai.  And  lo !  a  solitary  cloud 
comes  drifting  along  the  morning  sky,  and  catches  against 
the;  top  of  the  mountain  and  remains  there  ;  and  suddenly, 
thunder  began  to  speak  from  its  depths,  and  the  fierce 
lightning  traversed  its  bosom,  gleaming  and  flashing 
through  every  part  of  it.  That  cloud  was  God’s  pavil¬ 
ion  ;  the  thunder  was  its  sentinels,  and  the  lightning  the 
lances’  points  as  they  moved  around  the  sacred  trust. 

“  The  commotion  grew  wilder  every  moment,  till  the 
successive  claps  of  thunder  were  like  the  explosion  of  ten 
thousand  cannon  shaking  the  earth.  Amid  this  incessant 
firing  of  heaven’s  artillery,  suddenly  from  out  the  bosom 
of  that  cloud  came  a  single  trumpet  blast,  not  like  the 
thrilling  music  of  a  thousand  trumpets  that  heralds  the 
shock  of  cavalry,  but  one  solitary  clarion  note,  with  no 
sinking  cadence  or  rising  swell,  but  an  infinite  sound, 
rising  in  its  ascensive  power,  till  the  universe  was  filled 
with  the  strain.  The  incessant  thunders  that  rock  the 
heights  cannot  drown  it,  for  clearer,  fuller,  louder,  it 


DELIVERY  OF  THE  LAW  AT  SINAI. 


201 


peals  on  over  the  astonished  spectators,  till  their  hearts 
sink  away  in  fear,  and  nature  herself  stands  awe-struck 
and  trembling  before  it.  And  lo  !  columns  of  smoke 
begin  to  rise  fast  and  furious  from  that  mysterious  cloud, 
as  if  a  volcano  had  opened  its  bosom,  and  the  pent  up 
elements  were  discharging  themselves  in  the  upper  air; 
and  the  sturdy  mountain  rocks  to  and  fro  on  its  base,  as  if 
in  the  grasp  of  an  earthquake.  ‘  And  the  smoke  thereof 
ascended  as  the  smoke  of  a  great  furnace,  and  the  whole 
mount  quaked  greatly.’ 

“Amid  this  rapid  roll  of  thunder,  and  flashing  of  light¬ 
ning,  and  fiercely  ascending  volumes  of  smoke,  and  con¬ 
vulsive  throbs  of  Sinai,  and  while  that  trumpet  strain  still 
‘  waxed  louder  and  louder,’  Moses  led  the  tremblingr 
Israelites  forth  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  Suddenly 
the  uproar  ceased,  and  the  thunders  hushed  their  voice, 
and  the  last  echo  of  the  trumpet  died  away,  and  all 
was  still.  And  from  that  silent  cloud  came  a  voice 
more  fearful  than  them  all — the  voice  of  Jehovah — calling 
them  up  into  the  mount.  The  great  lawgiver  of  Israel 
parted  from  his  people,  and  with  solemn  step  was  seen 
scaling  the  rocks  and  climbing  the  heights,  till  at  last  the 
cloud  received  him  in  its  bosom. 

“  The  moral  law  was  given,  and  also  the  civil  code, 
which  men  have  so  learnedly  traced  to  the  social  compact. 
The  first  act  in  the  mighty  drama  was  ended,  and  Moses 
Avas  ordered  to  bring  up  Aaron,  and  Nadab,  and  Abihu, 
and  seventy  of  the  elders,  to  worship  in  the  mountain ; 
and  God  showed  himself  in  his  glory  to  them. 

“  When  this  strange  worship  was  ended,  the  voice  of 
Jehovah  was  again  heard  issuing  from  the  cloud  ;  but 
what  a  change  had  passed  over  its  dark  form.  A  serene 
and  pure  radiance  began  to  play  around  it,  quivering  like 
a  bright  light  with  its  own  intensity.  Brighter  and  brighter 
it  grew,  till  the  eye  turned  away  dazzled  by  the  sight. 
Brighter  still  it  gleamed,  till  it  seemed  a  glowing  furnace, 
shooting  forth  living  fire  on  every  side.  Its  wrathful 
streaks  streamed  down  the  mountain,  filling  the  cavities 
with  deeper  gloom,  touching  every  rock  and  crag  with 
flame,  and  bathing  the  white  tints  in  a  lurid  light.  And 
when  the  night  came  on,  and  darkness  W'rapped  the 
world,  that  mountain  was  one  blaze  of  light,  shedding  a 
stronger  luster  on  the  barren  scene,  and  revealing  every 

I* 


202 


THE  DELIVERY  OF  THE  LAW. 


face  and  form  of  that  immense  host,  as  if  they  stood 
beneath  a  burning  palace, — painting  with  teiaible  dis¬ 
tinctness,  and  in  lines  of  fire,  the  surrounding  landscape. 
The  stars  went  out  before  its  brilliancy,  and  the 
moon  looked  dark  in  its  splendor.  For  six  days  and 
nights  did  the  glory  dame  on,  shedding  such  a  baptism 
on  the  wondering  camp  as  was  never  before  witnessed 
by  mortal  eye,  for  ‘  the  sight  of  the  glory  of  the  Lord 
was  like  a  devouring  fire  on  the  top  of  the  mount  in  the 
eyes  of  the  children  of  Israel.’  Little  sleep  was  in  the 
tents  of  Jacob  then,  for  each  one  held  his  breath  in  awe, 
wondering  what  next  would  happen  in  this  succession  of 
strange  scenes.  At  length  that  voice,  before  which  nature 
herself  seemed  to  change,  again  issued  from  the  clouds, 
calling  Moses  to  a  second  interview.  Taking  Joshua 
with  him,  he  again  ascended  the  hill,  and  was  wrapped 
from  sight  ‘  forty  days  and  forty  nights.’  ” 

Passing  over  the  description  of  the  idolatrous  and 
shameful  occurrences  that  took  place  among  the  Israelites 
in  the  vale  below  during  this  solemn  period,  while  Moses 
was  on  the  mount;  and  passing  over  the  scenes  of  exem¬ 
plary  punishment  enacted  upon  the  guilty,  by  command 
of  Moses  at  his  return  from  the  mount,  bearing  in  his  arms 
the  tables  of  the  law,  Mr.  Headly  proceeds  as  follows  : — 

“  Why  speak  of  the  after-repentance  and  consecration — 
of  the  second  ascent  into  Sinai — of  the  passing  of  Jehovah 
before  Moses — of  the  still  radiance  that  beamed  from  his 
face  as  he  came  once  more  unto  the  people,  until  they 
turned  dazzled  from  his  presence  1  The  mighty  pageant 
has  at  length  closed — the  cloud  column  rose  from  before 
the  tabernacle  and  moved  into  the  desert ;  the  tents  were 
struck,  and  the  host,  headed  by  that  mysterious  pillar,  in 
one  long  column  I'ose  from  before  the  tabernacle,  and 
moved  into  the  deseit;  the  tents  were  struck;  and  the  host, 
headed  by  that  mysterious  pillar,  in  one  long  column  dis¬ 
appeared  in  the  wilderness,  and  that  fearful  mountain  was 
left  once  more  alone  amid  the  bleak  and  barren  scenery. 

“  Turned  into  sapphire  by  Jehovah’s  feet,  consecrated 
by  his  touch,  and  baptized  by  the  cloud  of  fire  and  of  glory. 
Mount  Sinai  stood  the  second  sacred  mountain  on  the  earth.” 

451.  The  most  solemn  preparations  (says  Dr.  Thomas 
Dick)  were  made  for  this  divine  manifestation ;  the 
people  of  Israel  were  commanded  to  purify  themselves 


SIGNIFICATIONS  OF  THE  WORD  LAW. 


203 


from  every  mental  and  corporeal  pollution,  and  strictly 
enjoined  to  keep  within  the  boundaries  marked  out  for 
them,  and  not  to  rush  within  the  limits  assigned  to  these 
awful  symbols  of  the  Deity.  An  assemblage  of  celestial 
beings,  from  another  region  of  creation,  was  present  on 
this  occasion,  to  perform  important  services,  to  swell  the 
grandeur  of  the  scene,  and  to  be  witnesses  of  the  impres¬ 
sive  transactions  of  that  solemn  day. 

452.  In  order  that  the  impressive  words  which  were 
uttered  on  that  day  might  not  be  forgotten  in  future  gen¬ 
erations,  they  were  writte7i  on  tables  of  stone  with  the 
finger  of  God.  They  were  not  merely  written,  but  en¬ 
graved,  or  cut  out  of  the  solid  stone,  so  that  they  could 
not  be  erased ;  they  were  inscribed  on  a  solid,  and  not 
perishable  material.  “  The  tables  were  written  on  both 
their  sides.''  This  was  intended  to  prevent  the  possibil¬ 
ity  of  anything  being  added  to  the  law  or  taken  from  it. 

The  tables  were  two  in  number,  the  one  containing  the 
precepts  which  inculcate  love  to  God ;  the  other  contain¬ 
ing  those  which  enjoin  the  love  of  our  neighbor.  These 
laws,  thus  engraven  on  the  most  durable  materials,  were 
deposited  in  the  most  sacred  part  of  the  tabernacle,  in 
the  ark  of  the  covenant,  under  the  mercy-seat. 

453.  All  the  striking  circumstances  referred  to  in  the 
foregoing  descriptions,  were  evidently  intended  to  pro¬ 
claim  the  majesty  and  grandeur  of  the  Supi'eme  Legisla¬ 
tor  ;  the  excellence  and  perfection  of  his  law,  as  being 
the  unalterable  rule  of  rectitude  ;  and  the  dreadful  conse¬ 
quences  which  must  ensue  to  all  those  who  persist  in  the 
violation  of  its  precepts. 

454.  “  As  the  people  of  Israel  may  be  viewed  under  a 
threefold  aspect,  so  we  have  a  foundation  laid  in  this 
fact  for  a  threefold  acceptance  of  the  word  law. 

“  They  may  be  viewed,  (1.)  as  rational  and  responsible 
creatures,  depending  (like  oui’selves)  upon  God,  and  sub¬ 
ject  to  his  will,  as  the  supreme  Ruler  and  Judge  of  the 
universe.  In  this  capacity  the  law  of  the  Ten  Command¬ 
ments,  or  the  moral  law,  was  given  to  them,  which  is  sub¬ 
stantially  one  and  the  same  with  the  law  of  nature,  and 
binding  on  all  men  as  such.  (2.)  As  the  church  of  the  Old 
Testament,  expecting  the  Messiah,  and  furnished  with  a 
system  of  worship  embracing  a  great  variety  of  rites  and 
ceremonies,  which  pointed  more  or  less  distinctly  to  him. 


204 


HULES  OF  INTERPRETATION. 


Viewed  in  this  ecclesiastical  character,  God  bestowed 
■upon  them  the  ceremonial  law,  which  was  a  body  of  rules 
and  precepts  regulating  their  religious  worship.  (3.)  As 
a  peculiar  people,  having  a  civil  polity  and  constitution 
especially  appointed  for  them,  and  distinguishing  them 
from  all  other  nations,  their  government  being  in  fact  a 
Theocracy ,  in  which  God  himself  was  their  Chief  Magis¬ 
trate.  Viewed  in  this  light  a  code  of  civil  or  political 
laws  was  prescribed  them.  The  term  “  the  law  ”  is 
sometimes  applied  to  one  of  these  systems,  and  sometimes 
to  another,  and  again  to  the  whole  taken  collectively  ;  so 
that  we  must  often  be  governed  in  great  measure  by  the 
context  in  determining  the  precise  sense  in  which  the 
term  is  used.  It  is  however  most  legitimately  and  em¬ 
phatically  employed  in  reference  to  the  first  of  these,  or 
the  moral  law,  which  was  distinguished  from  the  others  by 
being  audibly  delivered  by  God  himself,  and  afterward 
written  by  him  upon  two  tables  of  stone. 

[Professor  Bush.] 


449.  What  may  serve  as  an  incitement  to  the  study  of  the  moral  law 
delivered  at  Mount  Sinai? 

450.  Can  you  present  the  substance  of  Headly’s  beautiful  sketch  of  the 
circumstances  in  which  the  law  was  delivered  ? 

451.  What  account  does  Dr.  Thomas  Dick  give  of  the  delivery  of  the 
Law  ? 

452.  What  particular  honor  was  put  upon  the  moral  law,  in  the  manner 
of  its  being  recorded  and  preserved  ? 

453.  What  was  the  probable  design,  and  what  is  the  tendency,  of  all  the 
circumstances  attending  the  delivery  of  the  law,  the  record,  and  the  mode 
of  securing  its  preservation  ? 

454.  In  how  many  acceptations  is  the  term  law  employed  in  the  sacred 
scriptures  ? 

SECTION  II.  — RULES  FOR  THE  RIGHT  INTERPRETATION  OF  THE 

TEN  COMMANDMENTS,  AND  OTHER  PRECEPTIVE  PARTS  OF  THE 

SACRED  SCRIPTURES. 

455.  The  Ten  Commandments  are  to  be  rec:arded  as 
exhibiting  only  a  summary  of  duty.  They  do  not  enter 
into  detail,  but  are  general  heads,  from  which  particulars 
are  to  be  deduced  by  ourselves,  or  are  to  be  collected 
from  the  commentaries  upon  them,  which  are  scattered 
throughout  the  Scriptures.  Certain  rules  have  been  laid 
down  for  the  right  interpretation  of  this  law,  and  other 
preceptive  parts  of  the  Bible  ;  and  are  the  following  : — 

456.  Rule  I. —  It  should  always  be  remembered  that 
“  the  law  is  spiritual,”  as  it  is  called  by  an  apostle;  and 


RULES  OF  INTERPRETATION. 


205 


consequently,  that  it  requires  something  more  than  external 
conformity  to  its  precepts. 

Most  of  the  precepts,  when  literally  understood,  relate 
only  to  the  outward  conduct ;  as,  “  Thou  shalt  not  kill,” 
“  Thou  shalt  not  steal,”  &c. ;  but  the  last,  which  says 
“  Thou  shalt  not  covet,”  regulates  the  movements  of  the 
heart ;  and  this  instance  clearly  show's  the  spirit  which 
pervades  all  the  other  precepts.  It  is  an  admonition  in 
the  close  by  the  Lawgiver  that  he  ultimately  regards  the 
state  of  the  mind.  A  human  legislator  aims  at  nothing 
more  than  the  compliance  of  his  subjects  with  the  letter 
of  the  law.  The  heart  lies  beyond  his  jurisdiction.  But 
the  moral  law  emanated  from  Him  w'ho  is  the  former  of 
our  spirits  as  well  as  of  our  bodies,  has  a  right  to  the 
homage  of  both,  and  pays  no  regard  to  an  action,  or  to  a 
course  of  actions,  unless  the  disposition  from  which  it 
proceeds  be  such  as  he  can  approve. 

When,  therefore,  the  law  enjoins  any  duty,  it  enjoins  the 
corresponding  state  of  mind :  when  it  forbids  any  sin,  it 
forbids  the  state  of  mind  which  leads  to  it. 

457.  Rule  II. —  When  one  form  of  a  particular  sin  is 
forbidden,  all  the  forms  of  that  sin  are  forbidden  ;  and 
when  one  form  of  a  particular  duty  is  enjoined,  cdl  the  forms 
of  that  duty  are  also  enjoined. 

458.  The  law  says,  “  Thou  shalt  not  kill but  we  must 
not  limit  this  precept  to  the  prohibition  of  actual  murder 
alone.  It  forbids,  at  the  same  time,  all  injuries  offered  to 
the  person  of  another ;  all  malice,  and  revenge,  and  all 
the  expressions  of  malignant  feeling.  Our  Savior  has 
authorized  this  explanation,  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  Mat¬ 
thew’s  gospel. 

459.  When  he  commands  us  to  love  our  neighbor  as 
ourselves,  he  commands  us  to  perform  all  the  good  offices 
which  love  naturally  suggests,  and  by  which  its  sincerity 
is  expressed. 

460.  Rule  III. — When  any  duty  is  enjoined,  th«  con¬ 
trary  sin  is  forbidden,  and  when  any  sin  is  forbidden,  the 
contrary  duty  is  enjoined.  Is.  Iviii.  13.  Eph.  iv.  28. 

461.  When  the  law  forbids  us  to  kill,  or  unjustly  to 
deprive  a  man  of  life,  it  commands  us  to  use  the  means  of 
preserving  his  life,  to  give  him  the  counsel,  the  warnings, 
and  the  assistance  which  are  necessary  for  his  safety. 

462.  When  the  law'  commands  us  to  honor  our  parents, 


206 


RULES  OF  INTERPRETATION. 


it  foi'bids  neglect  of  tliem,  contempt  for  them,  or  the 
doing  of  anything  which  may  be  injurious  or  offensive  to 
them. 

463.  Rule  IV. —  'Where  a  duty  is  reqiiired,  the  use  of 
all  the  means  of  'performing  it  rightly,  is  required ;  and 
u-here  a  sin  is  forbidden,  every  cause,  and  even  every  occa¬ 
sion  of  it,  is  prohibited. 

464.  When  a  precept  enjoins  justice,  it  enjoins  dili¬ 
gence  in  business,  prudence  in  conducting  our  affairs,  and 
economy,  that  we  may  be  able  to  satisfy  every  lawful 
demand  upon  us ;  and  hence  it  follows  that  if  a  man  has 
brought  himself  by  indolence,  folly,  and  extravagance, 
into  such  a  situation  that  he  cannot  pay  his  debts,  he  is 
not  so  much  to  be  pitied,  as  to  be  condemned. 

465.  (1.)  When  the  Scriptures  prohibit  uncleanness, 
they  prohibit  drunkenness,  gluttony,  idleness,  and  all  the 
provocations  of  the  sensual  appetites. 

(2.)  When  the  law  forbids  murder,  it  forbids  also, 
wrath,  malice,  and  revenge,  which  prompt  men  to  com¬ 
mit  that  crime.  Matt.  v.  21,  22. 

(3.)  When  it  prohibits  theft,  it  forbids  covetous  desu'es  ; 
and  it  forbids  idleness,  which  may  prompt  us  to  steal  by 
reducing  us  to  want. 

466.  Rule  V. —  That  which  is  forbidden,  is  at  no  time 
to  be  done ;  but  that  which  is  required,  is  to  be  done  only, 
as  opportunity  is  afforded. 

467.  It  is  never  lawful  to  murder,  to  steal,  to  commit 
adultery.  No  situation  can  occur  in  which  a  man  shall 
be  permitted  to  do  these  things.  A  man  is  bound  to 
refrain,  although  he  should  expose  himself  to  the  loss  of 
his  life. 

468.  That  which  is  required,  is  to  be  performed,  as 
often  as  opportunity  is  afforded,  and  when  it  does  not  in¬ 
terfere  with  the  performance  of  our  other  duties. 

(1.)  We  ought  to  minister,  with  our  substance,  to  the 
wants  of  the  indigent ;  but  to  do  so  is  not  our  duty  if  we 
are  ourselves  so  poor  as  to  have  nothing  of  it  to  spare. 

(2.)  We  ought  to  worship  God,  but  we  cannot  be  con¬ 
stantly  engaged  in  acts  of  devotion,  for  we  are  commanded 
to  abound  in  other  duties  equally  necessary. 

469.  Rule  VI. —  The  p)recepts  of  the  second  table  of  the 
law  must  give  place  to  those  of  the  first  when  both  cannot  be 
obeyed.  This  rule  does  not  help  us  to  interpret  the  law ; 


RULES  OF  INTERPRETATION. 


207 


it  is  intended  to  point  out  the  relative  importance  of  its 
duties.  The  illustrations  usually  given  of  this  rule  are 
more  apparent  than  real,  because,  on  reflection,  it  will  ap¬ 
pear  that  in  such  cases  there  is  no  interference  of  duties. 

470.  (1.)  The  love  of  our  relatives  must  he  subordinate 
to  the  love  of  God,  and  Christ  has  said  that  we  must  hate 
father  and  mother  when  fidelity  to  him  requires  us  to  do 
so  ;  by  which  is  meant  that  we  must  love  parents  less  than 
Christ.  See  Matt.  x.  37,  38  ;  Mai.  i.  2  ;  Gen.  xxix.  30,  31. 

(2.)  When  the  commands  of  our  earthly  superiors  in¬ 
terfere  with  the  commands  of  God,  we  must  prefer  the 
latter  to  the  former. 

471.  In  such  cases  there  is  really  no  interference  of 
duties.  The  authority  of  men  over  others  is  limited,  and 
ceases  the  moment  it  is  exercised  in  requiring  anything 
unlawful.  When  the  commands  of  parents  and  magis¬ 
trates  are  opposed  to  the  commands  of  God,  there  is  no 
choice  of  duties  ;  the  will  of  God  is  the  sole  obligation 
which  an  enlightened  conscience  will  acknowledge. 

There  can  he  no  jarring  moral  obligations  ;  and  it  is  ig¬ 
norance  or  inattention  which  makes  them  appear  incom¬ 
patible.  We  can  never  owe  that  to  man  which  God 
claims  for  himself. 

472.  Rule  VII. —  Whatever  we  ourselvesare  commanded 
to  he,  to  do,  or  to  forbear,  we  are  obliged  to  endeavor,  in  02ir 
several  stations  in  society,  to  mahe  others  around  vs  to  be, 
to  do,  or  to  farbear. 

473.  (1.)  It  is  the  duty  of  other  men,  as  well  as  of  our¬ 
selves,  to  glorify  God  by  obeying  his  commandments  ; 
and  zeal  for  his  glory  will  excite  us  to  use  all  lawful 
means  to  induce  them  to  do  it. 

(2.)  Whatever  sin  is  forbidden  to  ourselves,  we  are  for¬ 
bidden  to  partake  with  others  in  it,  either  by  example, 
advice,  connivance,  or  by  giving  them  occasion  to  commit 
it :  “  Be  not  partaker  of  other  men’s  sins ;  keep  thyself 
pure.”  [Dr.  Dick’s  Lectures;  Colquhoun  on  the  Law.] 


455.  In  what  light  are  these  Ten  Commandments  to  be  regarded  ? 

456.  What  is  the  first  rule  of  interpretation  ;  and  how  is  it  established? 

457.  What  is  the  second  rule  of  interpretation  ? 

458.  What  example  may  be  given  of  the  first  part  of  this  rule  ? 

459.  What  example  may  be  given  of  the  second  part  of  this  rule  ? 

460.  What  is  the  third  rule? 

461.  What  example  may  be  furnished,  of  afErmative  precepts  being  in¬ 
cluded  in  the  negative  ? 


208 


PERFECTION  OF  THE  MORAL  LAW. 


462.  What  example  may  be  given  of  negative  prrecepts  being  included  in 
the  affirmative '{ 

463.  What  is  the  fourth  rule  ? 

464.  What  example  can  be  produced,  in  regard  to  the  first  part  of  this  rule? 

465.  What  examples  are  there  of  the  second  part  of  this  rule? 

466.  What  is  the  fifth  rule  ? 

467.  How  can  you  illustrate  the  first  part  of  this  rule  ? 

468.  How  can  you  illustrate  the  second  part  of  this  rule? 

469.  What  is  the  sixth  rule  ? 

470.  What  illustration  may  be  given  of  this  rule  ? 

471.  How  does  it  appear  that  in  such  cases  there  is  really  no  interfer¬ 
ence  of  duties  ? 

472.  What  is  the  seventh  rule  ? 

473.  What  examples  of  the  application  of  this  rule  may  be  furnished  ? 

SECTION  III.— PERFECTION  OF  THE  MORAL  LAW  DELIVERED 

AT  SINAI. 

474.  By  the  judicious  application  of  the  rules  just  set 
forth  for  the'interpretation  of  the  Law,  with  the  assistance 
afforded  by  other  passsages  of  Scripture,  we  may  deduce 
from  the  ten  precepts  of  the  Decalogue  all  the  duties 
which  we  owe  to  God,  and  to  man.  It  is  a  complete  code 
of  morality.  As  no  man  can  attempt  without  impiety  to 
take  anything  from  it,  so  there  is  no  need  that  anything 
should  be  added  to  it. 

475.  Those  who  affirm  that  Christ  has  corrected  and 
enlarged  the  law,  unjustly  accuse  it  of  imperfection  in  its 
original  form  ;  and  they  totally  misapprehend  the  design 
of  his  commentaries  upon  it  in  the  Gospels,  which  was  not 
to  new-model  the  law,  but  to  free  it  from  the  corrupt  in¬ 
terpretations  which  the  Scribes  had  given  of  it,  on  the 
authority  of  tradition.  He  evidently  recognized  its  per¬ 
fection  in  his  answer,  formerly  quoted,  to  the  question 
“  Which  is  the  great  commandment  of  the  law  V’  and  the 
apostle  Paul,  who  was  enlightened  by  his  Spirit,  pro¬ 
nounced  it  to  be  “holy,  just,  and  good.” 

[Dr.  Dick’s  Lectures.] 

Tlte  Skeptical  Lawyer. 

476.  Many  considerations  might  be  urged  to  excite  to 
the  diligent  study  of  this  law,  and  to  show  its  perfection 
and  importance.  The  exposition  of  the  law  will  discover 
to  us  these  qualities — but  as  a  preliminary  to  it,  the  ex¬ 
perience  of  an  eminent  lawyer  of  one  of  the  northern 
United  States  may  be  submitted.  Its  authenticity  may  be 
relied  on,  as  it  is  published  in  one  of  the  papers  of  the 
American  Tract  Society. 


PERFECTION  OF  THE  MORAL  LAW. 


209 


477.  This  lawyer  was  once  a  very  profane  man,  and  a 
skeptic.  On  a  certain  occasion  he  asked  another  lawyer 
what  books  he  should  read  on  the  evidences  of  Chris¬ 
tianity.  He  was  advised  to  read,  in  the  first  instance,  the 
Bible  itself,  inasmuch  as  most  infidels  are  very  ignorant 
of  it,  and  furthermore,  in  order  to  reason  correctly  on  any 
subject,  it  is  necessary  to  understand  what  it  is  that  we 
reason  about.  It  was  stated  to  him  also,  that  the  inter¬ 
nal  evidences  of  the  Bible  are  even  stronger  than  the  ex¬ 
ternal.  He  was  advised  to  begin  his  perusal  of  the  Bible, 
with  the  book  of  Genesis. 

This  advice  was  complied  with ;  the  aid  of  com¬ 
mentaries,  and  of  his  legal  friend,  was  employed  in 
solving  difficulties. 

One  evening,  some  time  after  this  course  of  study  was 
commenced,  the  Christian  lawyer  called  on  his  skeptical 
friend,  and  found  him  walking  his  room,  and  so  pro¬ 
foundly  engaged  in  thought  that  his  own  entrance  into 
the  room  was  not  noticed,  until  he  asked  his  friend  what 
it  was  that  occupied  his  attention. 

The  skeptic  replied,  “  I  have  been  reading  the  moral 
law.” 

“  Well,  what  do  you  think  of  iti”  asked  the  other. 

“  I  will  tell  you  what  I  mcd  to  think  of  it,”  said  the 
skeptic.  “  I  supposed  that  Moses  was  the  leader  of  a 
horde  of  banditti ;  that  having  a  strong  mind,  he  ac¬ 
quired  great  influence  over  a  superstitious  people ;  and 
that  on  Mount  Sinai  he  played  off  some  sort  of  fire¬ 
works,  to  the  amazement  of  his  ignorant  followers,  who 
imagined,  in  their  mingled  fear  and  superstition,  that  the 
exhibition  was  supernatural.” 

“  But  what  do  you  think  now  1”  followed  his  friend. 

“  I  have  been  looking,”  replied  the  skeptic,  “  into  the 
nature  of  that  law.  I  have  been  trying  to  see  whether  I 
can  add  anything  to  it,  or  take  anything  from  it,  so  as  to 
make  it  better.  Sir,  I  cannot.  It  is  perfect. 

“  The  First  Commandment,”  continued  he,  “  directs 
us  to  make  the  Creator  the  object  of  supreme  love  and 
reverence.  That  is  right:  if  he  be  our  creator,  pre¬ 
server,  and  supreme  benefactor,  we  ought  to  treat  him, 
and  no  other,  as  such. 

“  The  Second  Commandment  forbids  idolatry.  That 
precept  certainly  is  right. 


210 


PERFECTION  OF  THE  MORAL  LAW. 


“  The  Third,  with  equal  justness,  forbids  profanity. 

“  The  Fourth  fixes  a  time  for  religious  worship.  If 
there  be  a  God,  he  ought  certainly  to  be  worshiped. 
It  is  suitable  that  there  should  be  an  outward  homage, 
significant  of  our  inward  regard.  If  God  is  to  be  wor¬ 
shiped,  it  is  proper  that  some  time  should  be  set  apart 
for  that  purpose,  when  all  may  worship  him  harmoni¬ 
ously,  and  without  interruption.  One  day  in  seven  is 
certainly  not  too  much ;  and  I  do  not  know  that  it  is  too 
little. 

“  The  Fifth  defines  the  peculiar  duties  arising  from 
family  relations. 

“  Injuries  to  our  neighbor  are  then  classified  by  the 
moral  law.  They  are  divided  into  offenses  against  life, 
chastity,  property,  and  character.  And,”  said  he,  apply¬ 
ing  a  legal  idea  with  legal  acuteness,  “  I  notice  that  the 
greatest  offense  in  each  class  is  expressly  forbidden. 
Thus,  the  greatest  injury  to  life  is  murder:  to  chastity, 
adultery:  to  property,  theft :  to  character,  perjury.  Now 
the  greater  offense  must  include  the  lesser  of  the  same 
kind.  Murder  must  include  every  injury  to  life;  adultery 
every  injury  to  purity;  and  so  of  the  rest.  And  the 
moral  code  is  closed  and  perfected  by  a  prohibition,  for¬ 
bidding  every  improper  desire  in  regard  to  our  neighbor. 

“  I  have  been  thinking,”  he  proceeded,  “  Where  did 
Moses  get  that  law  1  I  have  read  history.  The 
Egyptians  and  the  adjacent  nations  were  idolaters;  so 
were  the  Greeks  and  Romans ;  and  the  wisest  and  best 
of  Greeks  or  Romans  never  gave  a  code  of  morals  like 
this.  Where  did  Moses  get  this  law,  which  surpasses  the 
wisdom  and  philosophy  of  the  most  enlightened  ages  1 
He  lived  at  a  period  comparatively  barbarous  ;  but  he 
has  given  a  law,  in  which  the  learning  and  sagacity  of  all 
subsequent  times  can  detect  no  flaw.  Where  did  he  get 
it  I  He  could  not  have  soared  so  far  above  his  age  as  to 
have  devised  it  himself.  [  am  satisfied  where  he  obtained 
it.  It  must  have  come  from  Heaven.  I  am  convinced  of 
the  truth  of  the  religion  of  the  Bible.” 

474.  How  may  we  learn  all  our  duties  from  the  ten  brief  precepts  deliv¬ 
ered  at  Sinai? 

475.  What  mistakes  concerning  the  Decalogue  require  to  be  corrected  ? 

476.  What  purpose  is  answered  by  the  account  of  the  skeptical  lawyer? 

477.  What,  substantially,  are  the  facts  concerning  this  lawyer,  and  what 
did  he  discover  in  the  study  of  the  Decalogue  ? 


UNIVERSAL  OBLIGATION  OF  THE  MORAL  LAW.  211 


SECTION  IV.— OBLIGATION  AND  PERPETUITY  OF  THE  MORAL  LAW. 

478.  The  obligation  of  the  moral  law  is  universal.  All 
men,  in  every  region  of  the  earth,  are  subject  to  its 
authority.  It  was,  substantially,  the  law  given  to  man 
at  his  creation,  from  which  his  subsequent  apostacy  could 
not  release  him. 

It  is  founded  in  relations  which  subsist  wherever  there 
are  human  beings  endowed  with  reason  and  the  power 
of  volition. 

479.  The  other  laws  given  to  the  Jews  were  national 
and  local.  The  cex’emonial  law  could  not  be  practiced 
in  all  its  parts,  but  within  narrow  limits.  The  Temple 
could  not  be  resorted  to  on  all  necessary  occasions,  nor 
the  three  annual  festivals  be  observed  in  Jerusalem  by 
persons  whose  usual  residence  was  in  the  remote  countries 
of  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe. 

480.  The  judicial  law  was  the  civil  law  of  the  Jews, 
intended  solely  for  the  goveimment  of  their  nation  ;  to 
which,  therefore,  other  nations  were  not  more  subject  than 
men  living  in  one  country  are  at  present  subject  to  the 
laws  of  another. 

Nay,  some  things  were  enjoined  upon  the  Jews,  which 
by  other  nations  are  considered  as  unlawful ;  for  example, 
the  marriage  of  a  widow  to  the  brother  of  her  deceased 
husband  who  had  died  without  children. 

The  ceremonial  law  is  abolished,  as  well  as  the  judicial, 
or  civil,  so  far  as  it  did  not  embody  the  moral  precepts, 
which  are  of  perpetual  obligation. 

481.  While  the  authority  of  certain  oi'dinances,  reli¬ 
gious  and  civil,  extended  only  to  the  Jews,  the  Decalogue 
is  the  law  of  nations.  Morality  is  not  the  subject  of 
positive  institution,  and  of  human  regulation.  It  is  not 
determined  by  geographical  boundaries,  so  that  what  is 
right  on  one  side  of  a  river  or  mountain  is  wrong  on  the 
other,  and  virtue  and  vice  exchange  charactei’s,  accord¬ 
ing  to  changes  of  climate.  Piety  toward  Grod,  truth, 
justice,  and  charity  toward  men,  and  the  exercise  of 
temperance  or  self-government,  are  duties  in  every 
country  under  heaven.  The  moral  law  is  the  rule  of 
our  present  conduct,  and  will  be  the  rule  of  our  future 
judgment. 

There  cannot  be  a  more  erroneous  view  of  the  Christian 


212 


THE  TWO  TABLES  OF  THE  LAW. 


religion,  than  to  suppose  that  it  sets  men  free  from  the 
obligations  of  morality. 

482.  To  produce  conformity  to  the  moral  law  is  the 
design  of  the  death  of  Christ,  of  his  ministrations  in 
heaven,  of  the  operations  of  the  spirit  upon  the  human 
heart,  of  the  institutions  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  dispensa¬ 
tions  of  Providence. 

The  work  of  redemption  would  he  only  half  performed 
in  delivering  men  from  the  punishment  of  sin.  To  eman¬ 
cipate  them  from  the  influence  and  practice  of  it ;  and 
to  render  them  obedient  to  God  :  this  is  the  other  half, 
and  is  surely  of  equal  importance.  [Dick’s  Lectures.] 

478.  Within  what  limits  does  the  obligation  of  the  moral  law  extend  ? 

479.  Was  the  obligation  of  the  ceremonial  law,  also  universal? 

480.  Was  the  obligation  o-f  the  judicial  law,  universal? 

481.  How  does  it  appear  that  the  moral  law  is  perpetual,  as  well  as 
universal,  in  its  obligation? 

482.  By  what  means  is  a  conformity  to  the  moral  law  secured  to  men? 

SECTION  V.— EXPOSITION  OF  THE  MORAL  LAW. 

483.  The  purpose  of  dividing  the  law  into  two  tables, 
seems  to  have  been  to  distinguish  the  two  classes  of  pre¬ 
cepts  which  the  Decalogue  contains.  We  can  conceive 
of  no  other  reason.  The  two  classes  obviously  embrace 
our  duties  to  God  and  our  duties  to  man,  respectively. 
So  our  Savior  seems  to  have  divided  them,  “  Thou  shalt 
love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart :  and  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself.” 

On  this  principle  the  first  four  precepts  must  have  be¬ 
longed  to  the  first  table ;  and  the  six  following,  to  the 
second.  In  confirmation  of  this  view  may  be  stated  the 
fact,  that  the  apostle  calls  the  fifth  precept,  “  the  first 
commandment,  with  promise  he  must  be  understood 
to  represent  it  as  the  first  precept  of  the  second  table. 

484.  It  is  not  necessary  to  expose  the  inexcusable  con¬ 
duct  of  those  who,  to  justify  the  use  of  images,  have  at¬ 
tached  the  second  precept  to  the  first;  and  who,  to  make 
out  the  complement  of  ten  precepts,  have  been  compelled 
to  divide  the  tenth,  though  it  admits  not  properly  of  divi¬ 
sion,  as  it  relates  to  only  a  single  point,  covetousness,  or 
unlawful  desire. 

485.  The  first  precept  points  out  the  object  of  wor¬ 
ship  :  and  while  it  forbids  us  to  have  any  other  God  be- 


THE  FIRST  TABLE. 


213 


fore  him,  it  calls  upon  us  to  acknowledge  and  worship 
Him  alone. 

The  second  prescribes  the  means  of  worship,  not  by 
images,  or  any  other  plan  of  human  invention,  but  by  the 
rites  and  ordinances  which  are  divinely  appointed. 

The  third  declares  the  manner  in  which  the  service 
of  God  should  be  performed,  namely,  with  reverence,  as 
opposed  to  profaneness,  and  every  abuse  of  religious 
institutions. 

The  fourth  specifies  the  time  of  worship,  to  wit,  one 
day  in  seven,  which  is  to  be  wholly  devoted  to  God ;  not, 
however,  to  the  exclusion  of  other  seasons  which  the 
events  of  Providence  may  point  out,  and  the  regular 
devotional  exercises  of  every  day. 

486.  The  proclamation  of  this  law  was  prefaced  by 
these  words  : — “  I  am  Jehovah  thy  God,”  which  contain 
an  ample  ground  and  satisfactory  reason  for  the  obedience 
of  every  human  being. 

They  evidently  imply  that  He  is  the  self-existent  and 
eternal  Being,  who  created  all  worlds,  and  peopled  them 
with  their  inhabitants  ;  that  he  has  sovereign  authority  to 
prescribe  a  rule  of  action  to  his  creatures ;  and  that  he 
knows  best  what  laws  are  requisite  to  preserve  the  order, 
and  secure  the  happiness  of  his  vast  empire. 

That  these  laws  are  not  mere  acts  of  divine  sovereignty , 
hut  founded  upon  the  nature  of  things,  and  are  calculated 
to  preserve  the  harmony  and  order  of  the  intelligent 
universe,  will  appear  from  the  following  illustrations  and 
remarks. 


THE  FIRST  TABLE  OF  THE  LAW. 

THE  FIRST  COMMANDMENT. 

“  TAoJt  alialt  have  no  other  gods  before  me." 

487.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  each  precept  of  the 
law  is  addressed  to  men  in  their  individual  capacity,  in 
order  to  impress  their  minds  more  deeply  with  their 
personal  accountability,  and  to  excite  them  to  a  more 
diligent  and  conscientious  obedience. 

I.  Prohibitions  involved  in  the  First  Precept. 

488.  (1.)  This  precept  forbids,  in  the  first  place,  athe¬ 
ism,  which  may  be  divided  into  explicit  and  constructive. 

489.  Explicit  atheism  consists  in  the  formal  denial  of 


214 


ATHEISM  AND  POLYTHEISM. 


the  existence  of  God.  He  is  an  atheist  who  contends 
that  the  universe  contains  no  other  intellie^ence  than  the 
human  mind  ;  says  that  the  universe  is  eternal ;  that  there 
is  nothing  in  it  but  matter  and  motion,  and  talks  of  nature, 
and  chance,  and  fate — words  which  have  no  meaning, 
but  serve  as  a  substitute  in  discourse  for  the  name  of  a 
living,  designing  agent,  by  whom  all  things  were  created, 
and  are  governed. 

490.  Constructive  atheism  is  an  expression  which  is 
designed  to  embrace  all  those  sentiments  which  amount 
to  the  denial  of  God,  or  lead  to  this  conclusion,  although 
they  do  not  formally  express  it. 

Such  atheism  was  charged  upon  Epicurus  and  his 
followeis,  who,  as  Cicero  says,  granted  in  words  that 
there  were  gods,  but  in  reality  took  them  away,  because 
they  represented  them  as  removed  to  a  distance  from 
mortals,  and  taking  no  interest  in  their  affairs. 

491.  The  same  charge  which  was  advanced  against 
Epicurus  may  be  brought,  with  equal  justice,  against 
those  who  deny  the  providence  of  God,  his  particular 
ovei'sight  and  regulation  of  each  and  all  of  the  affairs 
of  this  world ;  and  who  substitute  in  the  room  of  the 
all-perfect  Being  of  the  Scriptures,  a  god  fashioned 
according  to  their  own  likeness,  an  ideal  of  their  own 
brain. 

492.  The  expression,  practical  atheism,  denotes  such 
conduct  as  virtually  contradicts  the  profession  of  the  lips  ; 
accordingly  an  apostle  speaks  of  some  “  who  profess  to 
know  God,  but  in  works  deny  him,  being  abominable 
and  disobedient,  and  to  every  good  work  reprobate.” 

■  493.  (2.)  In  the  second  2^1  ace,  this  precept  forbids  Poly¬ 
theism,  or  the  worship  of  more  deities  than  one. 

494.  Polytheism  was  introduced  long  before  the  time 
Avhen  the  law  was  given  at  Mount  Sinai.  It  existed  in 
Chaldea  while  Abraham  sojourned  there  ;  and  it  seems 
that  this  patriarch  was  a  worshiper  of  false  gods  before 
he  was  called  to  leave  his  country  and  his  kindred.  By 
the  time  of  the  exodus  from  Egypt,  the  evil  had  spread 
far  and  wide  ;  and  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  Poly¬ 
theism  prevailed  among  all  nations,  although  there  might 
still  be  some  individuals  who  continued  exclusively  to 
adore  the  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth. 

495.  The  design  of  the  call  of  Abraham  was  to  sepa- 


ANCIENT  POLYTHEISM. 


215 


rate  his  descendants  from  the  apostate  race,  and  to  con¬ 
stitute  them  a  distinct  and  peculiar  people,  among  whom 
the  knowledge  and  worship  of  Jehovah  should  be  pre¬ 
served  till  the  time  for  the  introduction  of  Christianity, 
when  He  would  again  reveal  himself  to  the  world,  and 
destroy  the  gods  of  the  Gentiles. 

By  this  precept  the  religions  of  all  heathen  nations  are 
condemned  ;  for  they  are  directly  opposed  to  the  funda¬ 
mental  doctrine  of  the  unity  of  the  divine  essence ;  and 
they  either  exclude  the  true  God,  or  they  associate  others 
with  him  as  sharers  in  the  honors  to  which  He  alone  is 
entitled. 

496.  We  are  informed  by  Hesiod,  Varro,  and  other 
ancient  authors,  that  no  less  than  thirty  thousand  subordi¬ 
nate  divinities  were  comprised  in  that  system  of  Polythe¬ 
ism  which  prevailed  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans. 
They  had  both  celestial  and  terrestrial  deities.  They  as¬ 
signed  peculiar  gods  to  the  fountains,  the  rivers,  the  hills, 
the  mountains,  the  valleys,  the  groves,  the  sea,  and  even 
to  hell  itself. 

To  cities,  fields,  houses,  families,  gates,  nuptial  cham¬ 
bers,  marriages,  births,  deaths,  sepulchres,  trees,  and  gar¬ 
dens,  they  also  appropriated  distinct  and  peculiar  deities. 
Their  chief  idol  was  Jupiter,  whom  they  called  the  father 
of  gods  and  men. 

Instead  of  worshiping  the  living  God,  they  deified  a 
host  of  dead  men,  called  heroes,  distinguished  for  nothing 
so  much  as  for  murder,  adultery,  sodomy,  rapine,  cruelty, 
drunkenness,  and  all  kinds  of  debauchery. 

To  such  contemptible  divinities  splendid  temples  were 
erected,  adorations  addressed,  costly  offerings  presented, 
and  rites  and  ceremonies  pei’formed,  subversive  of  every 
principle  of  decency  and  morality,  and  degrading  to  the 
reason  and  character  of  man. 

[For  a  full  account  of  the  rise  of  Polytheism  and  Pantheism,  consult 
Douglas  on  Errors  regarding  Religion ;  also  Dewar’s  Moral  Philosophy, 
vol.  ii.  pp.  152-182.] 

497.  In  ancient  Egypt,  the  meanest,  and  the  most  con¬ 
temptible  objects — sheep,  cats,  bulls,  dogs,  cows,  storks, 
apes,  vultures,  and  other  birds  of  prey ;  wolves,  and  sev¬ 
eral  sorts  of  oxen,  were  exalted  as  objects  of  adoration. 
Each  city  and  district  in  Egypt  entertained  a  peculiar  de¬ 
votion  to  some  animal  or  other,  as  an  object  of  worship ; 


216 


ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  POLYTHEISM. 


nourished  it  with  the  greatest  care  and  delicacy  when 
living,  and  mourned  deeply  for  it  when  dead. 

498.  If  the  Egyptians,  the  Greeks,  and  the  Romans, 
who  were  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  the  world  for 
their  improvements  in  literature,  science,  and  the  arts, 
had  so  far  renounced  their  allegiance  to  the  true  God,  we 
may  rest  assured  that  the  surrounding  nations  were  sunk 
still  further  into  the  pollution  of  idolatry  and  of  mental 
debasement.  The  Phoenicians,  the  Syrians,  the  Canaan- 
ites,  the  Chaldeans,  the  Babylonians,  the  Arabians,  the 
Scythians,  the  Ethiopians,  the  Carthaginians,  the  ancient 
Gauls,  Germans,  and  Britons,  were,  if  possible,  more 
deeply  debased,  and  mingled  with  their  idolatrous  rites 
many  cruel,  obscene,  and  vile  practices. 

499.  The  moral  debasement  of  modern  heathen  na¬ 
tions,  in  consequence  of  Polytheism,  is  about  as  great  as 
that  of  the  ancient.  Even  the  Hindoos,  the  Burmans,  the 
Chinese,  the  Persians,  and  the  Japanese,  though  ranked 
among  the  most  polished  nations  of  the  heathen  world, 
are  sunk  into  the  grossest  ignorance  of  the  true  God,  and 
are  found  perpetrating,  in  their  religious  worship,  deeds 
revolting  to  humanity,  and  stained  with  cruelty  and  in¬ 
justice. 

500.  All  'pretenses  to  witchcraft  or  to  magic,  fortune¬ 
telling,  charms,  astrology,  or  enchantments,  are,  by  some, 
considered  as  herein  prohibited ;  as,  in  these  ways,  men 
expect  that  information  or  assistance  from  other  beings 
which  God  only  can  afford. 

591.  It  has  been  alleged  that  ancient  legislators  and 
philosophers  were  not  idolators  themselves  ;  that  their 
doctrines  to  a  considerable  extent  counteracted  the  ten¬ 
dency  of  idolatry,  and  that  the  mysteries  which  were  so 
generally  established,  and  to  which  the  initiated  only  were 
admitted,  were  expressly  designed  to  preserve  the  knowl¬ 
edge  of  the  one  true  God.  But  Dr.  Dewar  and  others 
have  proved  that  these  suppositions  are  unfounded ;  and 
that  the  philosophers  and  legislators  of  antiquity  were 
the  supporters  and  patrons  of  idolatry.  Without  alluding 
to  all  their  erroneous  opinions  on  this  subject,  there  was 
one  which,  more  than  any  other,  seemed  to  make  idola¬ 
try  a  duty,  and  fui'nished  the  most  plausible  arguments 
in  its  favor — namely,  that  the  soul  of  the  world  (anima 
mundi)  is  God  ;  that  the  mind  which  governs  the  world 


PANTHEISM. 


217 


passetli  through  every  part  of  it,  as  the  soul  doth  in  us : 
or,  as  the  poet  has  expressed  it, — 

“  All  are  but  parts  of  one  stupendous  whole. 

Whose  body  nature  is,  and  God  the  soul ; 

That  changed  through  all,  and  yet  in  all  the  same, 

Great  in  tlie  earih  as  in  the  ethereal  flame ; 

Warms  in  the  sun,  refreshes  in  the  breeze. 

Glows  in  the  stars,  and  blossoms  in  the  trees ; 

Lives  through  all  life,  extends  through  all  extent. 

Spreads  undivided,  operates  unspent.” 

These  lines,  while  they  may  be  understood  as  merely  ex¬ 
pressing  the  doctrine  of  the  omnipresence  of  God,  and  in 
that  view  must  be  considered  as  peculiarly  beautiful  and 
sublime,  do  also  give  a  lively  representation  of  the  grossly 
erroneous  doctrine  of  the  Stoics  and  other  heathen  philos¬ 
ophers  ;  for  some  of  these,  after  proving  the  existence  and 
providence  of  the  gods  from  the  beauty  and  order  of  the 
works  that  are  made,  gi’avely  maintained  that  the  world 
is  an  animal,  reasonable,  wise,  and  hajjpy,  and  therefore 
is  God.  On  this  principle,  whatever  parts  of  the  uni¬ 
verse  they  chose  to  deify,  were  parts  of  God,  and  there¬ 
fore  entitled  to  religious  worship.  They  themselves, 
also,  and  their  fellow-men,  were  parts  of  the  divinity,  a 
notion  which  tended  to  produce  that  pride  and  self-suffi¬ 
ciency  for  which  the  Stoics  were  so  distinguished.  Need 
we  wonder  that  an  apostle  should  caution  the  disciples 
of  Christianity  to  beware  lest  any  man  should  spoil  them 
through  philosophy  and  vain  deceit  ? 

[Dewar,  vol.  ii.  p.  170.] 

502.  Such  effects  have  been  produced  by  a  departure 
from  this  fundamental  law  of  the  Creator,  as  correspond 
to  the  religious  system  adopted.  Man  generally  copies 
the  actions  of  those  whom  he  conceives  to  be  placed  in  a 
superior  station.  When,  therefore,  the  gods  were  intro¬ 
duced  to  his  view,  as  swollen  with  pride,  mad  with  rage, 
fired  with  revenge,  inflamed  with  lust,  engaged  in  battles 
and  contests,  delighting  in  scenes  of  blood  and  rapine,  in 
hatred,  and  mutual  contentions,  and  in  all  kinds  of  riot 
and  debauchery,  it  was  natural  to  suppose  that  such  pas¬ 
sions  and  crimes  would  be  imitated  by  their  blinded  vota¬ 
ries.  Accordingly,  we  find  that  such  vices  univei'sally 
prevailed,  even  among  the  politest  nations  of  antiquity, 
and  some  of  their  sacred  rites  solemnized  in  honor  of 
their  gods  were  so  bestial  and  shocking,  as  to  excite 

K 


218  EFFECTS  OF  ATHEISM  AND  POLYTHEISM. 

horror  in  every  mind  possessed  of  the  least  sense  of 
decency  and  virtue.  Dreadful  tortures  were  inflicted  on 
their  bodies,  to  appease  their  ofl’ended  deities ;  human 
victims,  in  vast  numbers,  were  sacrificed.  On  the  altars 
of  the  city  of  Mexico  twenty  thousand  human  beings  are 
said  to  have  been  sacrificed  every  year  in  the  most  horrid 
manner;  and  Jifty  thousand  in  the  various  parts  of  the 
empire. 

In  Hindustan,  even  in  our  own  day,  several  thousands 
of  women  have  been  annually  burned  on  the  funeral  piles 
of  their  deceased  husbands,  as  victims  to  the  religion  they 
profess ;  beside  multitudes  of  other  human  victims,  who 
have  been  crushed  to  death  under  the  wheels  of  that  in¬ 
fernal  engine  which  supports  the  idol  Juggernaut. 

503.  The  violation,  by  Polytheism,  of  the  first  precept 
of  the  moral  law,  is  the  greatest  crime,  next  to  Atheism, 
of  which  a  rational  creature  can  be  guilty.  It  is  a  com¬ 
prehensive  summary  of  wickedness.  As  to  Atheism,  its 
horrid  effects,  even  when  restrained  by  remaining  impres¬ 
sions  of  Theism  upon  the  mind,  were  developed  during 
the  French  Revolution  at  the  close  of  the  last  century. 

504.  Were  either  Atheism  or  Polytheism  to  become 
universal  in  the  world,  there  is  no  ci'ime,  no  species  of 
cruelty,  which  would  not  ere  long  be  perpetrated  without 
a  blush  in  the  open  face  of  day. 

505.  From  the  foregoing  facts  and  statements,  we  may 
learn  our  obligation  to  the  goodness  of  God  for  enacting 
laws  to  counteract  the  influence  of  jiagan  theology. 

(3.)  Polytheism,  or  Idolatry,  in  Christian  Lands. 

506.  “  The  precept  does  not  seem  to  be  directed  pri¬ 
marily  and  immediately  against  that  idolatry  which  con¬ 
sists  in  the  use  of  fabricated  images,  although  this  is  vir¬ 
tually  forbidden,  but  against  the  putting  anything  else  in 
the  'place  of  the  one  living  and  true  God. 

“  This  may  be  done  mentally,  as  well  as  manually. 
There  may  be  idolatry  without  idols  ;  and  the  scope  of 
this  prohibition  seems  to  be  mainly  to  forbid  the  making 
of  any  other  objects,  whether  persons  or  things,  real  or 
imaginary,  the  objects  of  that  supreme  regard,  reverence, 
esteem,  affection,  and  obedience  which  we  owe  to  God 
alone. 

“  Consequently,  the  proud  man,  who  idolizes  himself; 


IDOLATRY  IN  CHRISTIAN  LANDS. 


219 


tlie  ambitious  man,  who  pays  homage  to  popular  ap¬ 
plause;  the  covetous  man,  who  deifies  wealth;  the  sens¬ 
ualist,  who  lives  to  gratify  his  low  appetites ;  the  doting 
lover,  husband,  father,  mother,  who  suffer  their  hearts  to 
be  supremely  absorbed  in  the  love  of  the  creature,  all 
come  under  the  charge  of  transgressing  the  first  com¬ 
mandment.”  [Bush  on  Exodus.] 

507.  St.  Paul  instructs  us  that  the  root  and  essence  of 
Idolatry,  is  the  worshiping  and  serving  God’s  creatuies 
more  than  God  himself-  Whoever  then  loves  and  serves 
any  one  of  God’s  creatures,  more  than  he  loves  and  serves 
God  ;  whoever  makes  any  one  of  God’s  creatures  more 
an  object  of  his  thoughts,  and  allows  it  to  fill  a  greater 
space  in  his  mind  than  God  fills, — that  man  is  guilty  of 
idolatry  in  the  spiritual  and  Christian  sense  of  that  word. 
And  by  the  word  creatures,  is  here  meant  not  living  crea¬ 
tures  merely,  but  creatures  of  every  kind  ;  everything 
which  God  has  made  for  us,  or  enabled  us  to  make  for 
ourselves  ;  all  the  sweet  and  relishing  things  we  can  enjoy 
in  this  world  ;  pleasures,  honors,  riches,  comforts  of  every 
kind.  Therefore  if  any  man  is  foolish  and  wicked  enough 
to  give  up  his  heart  to  any  one  of  these  creatures,  and  by 
means  of  it  suffers  himself  to  be  drawn  away  from  serv¬ 
ing-  God,  he  is  an  idolater  in  the  sight  of  heaven. 

508.  St.  Paul,  in  his  epistle  to  the  Colossians,  expressly 
tells  us  that  covetousness,  or,  as  the  word  may  perhaps  be 
more  closely  rendered,  insatiahleness  and  greediness,  is 
idolatry;  and  again,  in  the  epistle  to  the  Ephesians,  he 
tells  us  that  the  covetous  man,  that  is,  the  insatiable  and 
greedy  man,  is  an  idolator.  It  matters  little  what  the 
man  is  greedy  of, — whether  he  is  greedy  of  money,  or  of 
business,  or  of  land,  or  of  meat  and  drink,  or  is  greedy  of 
praise  and  honor,  and  distinction  :  if  a  man  is  greedy  of 
any  earthly  thing,  and  does  not  know  when  he  has  had 
enough,  and  is  ever  longing  and  craving  after  it,  and 
wishing  to  add  more  to  more,  the  sentence  is  express 
against  that  man  :  St.  Paul  has  declared  him  to  be  an 
idolator. 

To  set  up  any  worldly  thing  as  the  end  and  object  of 
our  chief  longings,  is  to  throw  away  on  what  is  bounded 
and  perishable,  the  worship  due  to  what  is  infinite  and 
eternal. 

509.  Three  prominent  idols  have  been  introduced  from 


220 


IDOLATRY  IN  CHRISTIAN  LANDS. 


heathen  into  Christian  lands :  their  names  are,  Mam¬ 
mon,  Belial,  and  Moloch.  Every  greedy  thought  and 
covetous  desire,. is  an  act  of  worship  paid  to  Mammon; 
every  lustful  thought  and  impure  desire,  is  an  act  of  wor¬ 
ship  paid  to  Belial ;  every  spiteful  and  revengeful  thought, 
every  feeling  of  ill-will,  every  desire  to  do  any  one  an  in¬ 
jury,  everything  like  pleasure  at  our  neighbor’s  hurt — all 
these  are  acts  of  worship  and  heart-service  paid  to  the 
hateful  and  cruel  Moloch.  Happy,  and  honorable,  would 
it  be  for  us,  to  give  the  Lord  of  Heaven  and  Earth  as 
much  as  the  worshipers  of  Moloch,  and  Belial,  and 
Mammon  readily  give  to  them.  [Hare’s  Discourses.] 

510.  (4.)  If  the  Polytheism  of  the  Gentiles  is  condemn¬ 
ed  by  this  precept,  there  can  be  no  just  ground  of  doubt, 
that  the  worship  given  to  saints  and  angels,  in  the  church 
of  Rome,  is  equally  forbidden. 

Churches  are  dedicated  to  them  as  well  as  to  God ;  the 
most  solemn  services  of  religion  are  performed  in  honor 
of  them ;  pilgrimages  are  undertaken  to  the  places  which 
they  are  understood  to  favor,  and  in  which  their  pre¬ 
tended  relics  are  deposited;  they  are  invoked  in  the  most 
humble  postures,  and  in  the  usual  forms  of  supplication, 
as  being  able  everywhere  to  hear  the  suppliant ;  their 
assistance  is  implored,  and  thanks  are  returned  to  them 
for  benefits,  not  only  temporal,  but  spiritual,  which  they 
are  supposed  to  have  conferred;  and,  in  short,  they  re¬ 
ceive  all  the  honors  which  the  heathen  pay  to  their  male 
and  female  deities,  and  all  the  honors  which  are  paid  to 
God  himself. 

511.  In  regard  to  the  kind  of  worship  paid  by  them  to 
saints  and  angels,  the  Romanists  make  certain  distinctions 
in  -  theory,  but  these  distinctions  are  in  a  great  majority 
of  cases  lost  sight  of  in  practice.  Beside,  there  is  no 
excuse  for  the  worship  they  pay  to  such  beings.  If  the 
Gentiles  were  condemned  by  an  apostle  because  they 
did  service  to  them  who  by  nature  were  not  gods,  we 
cannot  see  how  professed  Christians  should  be  excused 
W'ho  address  their  worship  to  similar  objects. 

512.  Were  the  plea,  which  is  sometimes  made  by  the 
worshipers  of  the  Virgin  Mary  and  the  saints,  a  true 
one  :  that  they  only  pray  to  them  to  intercede  with  God  ; 
yet  it  would  be  an  insufficient  one.  For  there  is  no 
reason  to  believe  that  they  have  any  knowledge  of  such 


REaUIREMENTS  IN  THE  FIRST  PRECEPT. 


221 


prayers ;  or,  if  they  had,  as  there  is  one  God,  so  there  is 
one  Mediator  between  God  and  man.  And  we  have 
neither  precej^t,  nor  allowance,  nor  example,  in  the  whole 
Bible,  of  applying  to  any  other,  among  all  the  absent 
inhabitants  of  the  invisible  world.  [Seeker.] 

II. — Requirements  involved  in  the  First  Precept. 

513.  (1.)  This  precept  requires  us  to  have  our  minds 
fully  established  in  the  doctrine  of  the  existence  of  God  ; 
and  to  acknowledge  Him  only,  to  the  exclusion  of  every 
rival,  whether  set  up  by  heathens  or  by  idolatrous 
Christians. 

(2.)  It  requires  us  to  enteitain  worthy  sentiments  of 
his  character  and  perfections ;  and  with  this  view  to  at¬ 
tend  to  the  discoveries,  which  he  has  made  of  himself  in 
his  works,  and  particularly  in  the  sacred  scriptures. 

(3.)  It  requires  us  to  be  duly  affected  by  those  discov¬ 
eries  ;  to  cherish  and  exercise  the  affections  of  which  He 
is  the  proper  object,  such  as,  reverence  for  his  majesty, 
profound  humility,  trust  in  his  promises,  desires  for  his 
favor,  dependence  upon  his  care,  and  submission  to  his 
will ;  and,  in  a  few  words,  to  love  him  with  all  our 
strength,  preferring  him  to  all  creatures  in  heaven  and  on 
earth,  cultivating  communion  with  him,  and  dei’iving  our 
chief  satisfaction  from  the  uncreated  source  of  felicity. 

(4.)  It  requires  us  to  render  to  Him  the  honor  to  which 
he  is  entitled,  not  only  by  those  affections  of  our  hearts, 
but  by  such  outward  expressions  of  homage  as  He  has 
himself  prescribed, — to  pray  to  him,  to  praise  him,  and 
devoutly  to  observe  all  his  institutes. 

(5.)  It  requires  us  to  make  Him  our  ultimate  end  ;  and 
as  he  has  created  all  things  for  his  glory,  to  have  this  as 
our  predominant  wish,  and  constant  aim,  that  we  may 
honor  him  with  our  bodies  and  our  spirits,  which  are  his. 

[Professor  Dick’s  Lectures;  Dick’s  Philosophy  of  Relig^iou ;  Hares 
Discourses.] 


483.  Why,  probably,  was  this  law  divided  into  two  tables? 

484.  What  unjustifiable  freedom  have  some  taken  with  the  arrangement 
of  the  Ten  Commandments? 

485.  What  brief  view  may  be  given  of  the  first  four  precepts  of  the  De*' 
alogue  ? 

486.  What  was  the  preface  to  the  moral  law,  and  what  particular  ini 
portance  is  to  be  attached  to  it? 

487.  How  are  men  addressed  in  the  Decalogue? 

488.  What  does  this  precept  forbid,  in  the  first  place  ? 


222 


THE  SECOND  COMMANDMENT. 


489.  What  is  intended  by  explicit  atheism  ? 

490.  What  is  meant  by  constructive  atheism? 

491.  Against  whom  may  a  charge,  similar  to  that  against  Epicurus,  be 
fairly  brought  ? 

492.  What  is  meant  by  practical  atheism? 

493.  What  does  this  precept  torbid,  in  the  second  place? 

494.  When  was  Polytheism  introduced,  and  how  far  has  it  prevailed  ? 

495.  W'hat  relation  to  Polytheism  did  the  calling  of  Abraham  out  of  his 
native  country  sustain  ? 

496.  What  does  history  inform  us  concerning  the  number  of  false  gods 
worshiped  by  heathen  nations  ? 

497.  What  system  of  Polytheism  prevailed  in  ancient  Egypt? 

498.  What  kind  of  Polytheism  prevailed  among  other  ancient  nations? 

499.  What  is  the  state  and  extent  of  Polytheism  at  the  present  time  ? 

500.  W  hat  other  variety  of  Polytheism  may  be  noticed  as  condemned 
by  the  First  Commandment  ? 

501.  What  was  the  influence  of  ancient  legislators  and  philosophers  in 
relation  to  this  idolatrous  and  immoral  system  ? 

502.  What  moral,  or  rather,  what  immoral  effects  have  been  produced 
by  a  departure  from  this  fundamental  law  of  the  Creator? 

503.  What  then  is  to  be  thought  of  the  criminality  of  Polytheism  ? 

504.  What  effects  might  be  expected  from  Atheism  or  Polytfieism, 
should  they  become  universal? 

505.  What  inference  in  favor  of  God’s  revealed  law  may  be  deduced 
from  the  foregoing  facts  and  statements  ? 

506.  Does  the  prohibition  of  the  first  precept  extend  no  further  than  to 
the  adoration  of  pagan  divinities  or  idols? 

507.  What,  according  to  St.  Paul’s  instructions,  is  the  root  and  essence 
of  idolatry  ? 

508.  What  do  we  learn  concerning  idolatry  from  St.  Paul’s  letters  to  the 
Colossians  and  Ephesians? 

509.  What  three  prominent  idols  have  been  introduced  from  heathen 
into  Christian  lands? 

510.  What  other  kind  of  worship  is  prohibited  in  this  commandment? 

511.  Do  not  Romanists  make  certain  distinctions,  in  regard  to  the  kind 
of  worship  paid  by  them  to  saints  and  angels,  which  exculpate  them  from 
the  charge  of  idolatry? 

512.  What  plea  is  set  up  in  favor  of  the  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary  and 
other  saints  ;  and  how  is  it  proved  to  be  insufficient  ? 

513.  Having  considered  the  acts  which  are  prohibited,  what  are  the  acts 
which  are  virtually  required  in  the  precept,  “  Thou  shall  have  no  other 
gods  before  Me  ?” 


THE  SECOND  COMMANDMENT, 

“  Thou  shall  not  make  unto  thee  any  graven  image,  or  any  likeness  of  any  thing 
that  IS  in  heaven  above,  or  that  is  on  the  earth  beneath,  or  that  is  in  the  waters 
■under  the  earth  ;  thou  shall  not  bow  down  thyself  to  them,  nor  serve  them.” 

514.  The  first  precept  declares  the  proper  object  of 
■worship  :  the  second  prescribes  the  proper  means,  for- 
hiddincr  the  use  of  images,  and,  consequently,  of  every 
other  form  of  worship  which  has  not  been  ajrpointed  by 
God.  Tlie  first,  binds  us  to  acknowledge  and  worship 
Jehovah,  as  the  true  God;  the  second,  binds  us  to  the 
true  icorshlp  of  that  God :  it  binds  us  not  to  worship  him 
under  any  visible  resemblance  or  foryn. 


PROHIBITION  IN  THK  FIRST  PRECEPT. 


223 


515.  The  terms  “  graven  image,”  and  “  likeness,” 
here  employed,  unquestionably  denote  every  external 
repi’esentation  of  visible  or  invisible  objects  as  objects  of 
worship,  or  for  religious  purposes. 

516.  Although  the  Jews  have  generally  so  regarded 
this  precept,  as  forbidding  the  practice  of  the  arts  of 
sculpture  and  painting,  and  have  regulated  their  prac¬ 
tice  accordingly,  it  will  be  seen,  by  examining  the  con¬ 
nection  in  which  this  precept  stands,  and  other  instruc¬ 
tions  of  like  nature  in  the  Bible,  that  the  use  of  these 
arts  is  only  prohibited  when  designed  for  religious  pui’- 
poses  ;  as  supposed  auxiliaries  to  devotion.  Consult,  for 
instance.  Exodus  xx.  4,  5  ;  Deut.  iv.  15—18 ;  xxvii.  15. 

It  is  no  transgression  of  this  precept  to  form  repre¬ 
sentations  of  terrestrial  or  celestial  objects  for  amusement 
and  ornament ;  or  to  preserve  the  memory  of  the  dead,  and 
to  do  honor  to  those  who  deserve  well  of  their  country, 
or  of  mankind.  If  the  design  of  the  precept  be  con¬ 
sidered,  which  is  manifest  from  its  connection,  it  will  be 
found  to  relate  solely  to  religion,  and  to  condemn  images 
or  likenesses,  whether  engraven  or  drawn  with  the  pencil, 
only  when  they  are  made  the  objects  or  the  means  of 
worship. 

Moses  received  orders  to  construct  in  carved  work  the 
figui'es  of  the  cherubim  over  the  ark  of  the  covenant ; 
and  also  to  form  a  brass  image  of  a  serpent :  and  Solo¬ 
mon  was  commanded  also  to  employ  the  arts  of  sculp¬ 
ture  and  painting  upon  the  temple.  But  none  of  these 
productions  of  art  constituted  emblems  or  represent¬ 
ations  of  the  Deity. 

I. — Prohibition  in  this  Commandment. 

517.  It  condemns  all  outward  representations  of  God, 
In  consequence  of  the  idolatrous  tendency  of  human 
nature,  when  God  manifested  himself  on  Mount  Sinai,  it 
was  in  such  a  manner  that  no  future  representation  could 
be  made  by  sculpture  or  painting.  “  The  Lord  spake 
unto  you  out  of  the  midst  of  the  fire :  ye  heard  the  voice 
(f  the  words,  but  saw  no  similitude;  only  ye  heard  a 
voice.” 

The  second  precept,  like  the  former,  might,  at  first 
sight,  appear  to  be  unnecessary,  if  the  almost  universal 
practice  of  mankind  had  not  taught  us  that  there  is  no 


224 


ABSURDITY  OF  THE  USE  OF  IDOLS. 


disposition  which  the  human  mind  is  more  apt  to  indulge 
than  to  endeavor  to  bring  the  invisible  and  incompre¬ 
hensible  Divinity  within  the  range  of  our  senses,  and  to 
contemplate  him  as  one  like  ourselves. 

518.  The  Divine  Being  fills  the  immensity  of  space 
with  his  presence,  and  cannot  be  represented  by  a  figure 
confined  to  a  particular  place.  He  is  an  invisible  and 
spiritual  Being,  possessing  the  attributes  of  omnipotence, 
and  of  infinite  wisdom  and  goodness.  What  madness  is 
it  to  imagine  that  any  configuration  of  matter  bears  a 
resemblance  to  a  being  who  has  no  bodily  parts,  or  can 
aid  in  furnishing  just  conceptions  of  a  being  so  incom¬ 
prehensibly  great  and  glorious  as  Jehovah,  the  Creator 
of  the  universe  of  matter  and  mind  ! 

Even  the  sun  himself,  Avith  all  his  immensity  of 
splendor,  would  form  but  a  poor  and  pitiful  image  of 
Him  whose  breath  has  kindled  ten  thousand  times  ten 
thousand  suns.  How  much  less  can  a  block  of  marble, 
or  a  stupid  ox,  shadow  forth  the  glories  of  the  King 
eternal,  immortal,  and  invisible  ! 

We  are  unable,  indeed,  at  best,  to  speak  or  think 
worthily  of  Him  :  and  we  cannot  well  avoid  using  some 
of  the  same  phrases,  concerning  him  and  his  actions, 
which  we  do  concerning  the  parts  and  motions  of  our 
own  bodies.  But  we  can  very  well  avoid  making  sens¬ 
ible  images  or  pictures  of  him,  and  the  plainest  reason 
teaches  that  we  ought  to  avoid  it,  because  they  lower 
and  debase  men’s  notions  of  God ;  lead  the  weaker  sort 
into  superstitious  and  foolish  apprehensions  and  practices; 
and  provoke  those  of  better  abilities,  from  a  contempt 
of  such  childish  representations,  to  disregard  and  ridicule 
the  religion  that  adopts  them. 

519.  In  the  early  ages  of  the  world,  says  Archbishop 
Seeker,  many  of  the  heathens  themselves  had  no  images 
of  the  Deity  :  particularly  the  ancient  Persians  had  none. 
Nor  had  the  first  Romans;  Numa,  their  second  king, 
having,  as  the  philosopher  Plutarch,  himself  a  Roman 
magistrate,  though  a  Greek  by  birth,  informs  us,  “  for¬ 
bidden  them  to  represent  God  in  the  form  either  of  a 
man,  or  of  any  other  animal.  And,  accordingly,  he  says, 
they  had  neither  any  painted  or  engraved  figure  of  him 
for  one  hundred  and  seventy  years ;  but  temples,  void  of 
any  image  of  any  shape  ;  thinking  it  impious  to  liken  a 


USE  OF  IDOLS  PROHIBITED. 


225 


superior  nature  to  inferior  ones ;  and  impossible  to  attain 
the  notion  of  God  otherwise  than  by  the  understanding.” 

Varro,  a  most  learned  ancient  Roman  author,  is  quoted 
to  the  same  effect ;  and  then  remarks  the  archbishop, 
“  so  much  wiser  were  these  heathen  Romans^  than  the 
Christian  Romans  now%re.” 

But  when  some  of  the  eastera  kingdoms  had  fallen  into 
this  corruption,  particularly  the  Egyptians,  who  claimed 
the  invention  as  an  honor  {Herodotus,  1.  ii.  §  4),  the  great 
care  of  God  was  to  preserve  or  free  his  own  people  from 
it,  by  issuing  the  precept  now  under  consideration. 

520.  The  principal  reason,  perhaps,  why  any  repre¬ 
sentation  of  God  is  forbidden  in  this  precept,  is,  that 
whenever  such  a  iwactice  commences,  it  infaUihly  ends  in 
adoring  the  image  itself,  instead  of  the  object  it  was 
intended  to  represent ;  or,  in  other  woi’ds,  the  breach  of 
this  commandment  uniformly  leads,  in  most  cases,  to  a 
breach  of  the  first. 

521.  Some  have  maintained  that  the  second  precept 
only  forbids  the  making,  and  worshiping,  the  repre¬ 
sentations  of false  gods  ;  but  this  is  not  a  coiTect  view  of 
the  subject.  It  clearly  forbids  the  use  of  all  sensible 
representations  not  only  of  false  gods,  but  of  the  true 
God.  See  Deutei'onomy,  iv.  12-15, 16.  Beside  this  proof, 
when  the  Israelites  made  a  golden  calf,  about  the  time 
of  the  delivery  of  the  law,  though  evidently  their  design 
was  to  represent  by  it,  not  a  false  object  of  worship,  but 
Jehovah,  who  brought  them  up  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt ; 
they  are  charged  with  a  most  heinous  offense,  and  se¬ 
verely  punished;  and  in  the  book  of  Acts,  vii.  41,  this 
offense  is  stigmatized  as  idolatry.  It  is  remarkable  that 
the  feast  which  they  proclaimed  is  called  by  them  a  feast 
to  Jehovah. 

Again,  in  after-times,  when  the  kings  of  Israel  set  up 
the  same  representation  of  the  same  true  God,  at  Dan 
and  Bethel,  the  Scripture  invariably  speaks  of  it  as  the 
leading  sin  from  which  all  the  rest  of  their  idolatries  pro¬ 
ceeded  ;  foi-,  from  worshiping  the  true  God  by  an  image, 
they  soon  came  to  worship  the  images  of  false  gods 
too,  and  thence  fell  into  all  sorts  of  sup*erstition  and 
wickedness. 

Yet  the  church  of  Rome  maintains  that  we  may 
now  very  lawfully  and  commendably  practice  what  the 

K* 


226 


THE  ONLY  PROPER  IMAGES  OF  GOD. 


Jews  were  forbidden  to  do.  But,  in  opposition  to  this 
sentiment,  let  it  be  observed,  that  not  only  the  Jews,  but 
the  heathens  also,  who  never  were  subject  to  the  law  of 
Moses,  are  condemned  in  Scripture  for  this  mode  of  wor¬ 
ship  ;  as  in  Romans,  the  first  chapter,  and  in  Acts  xvii. 
29,  30,  where  it  is  said — “  Forasntuch,  then,  as  we  are  the 
offspring  of  God,  we  ought  not  to  think  that  the  Godhead 
is  like  unto  gold,  or  silver,  or  stone,  graven  by  art  and 
man’s  device.  And  the  time  of  this  ignorance  God  winked 
at,  but  now  commandeth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent.” 

522.  The  folly  of  making  images  or  pictures  of  Christ 
is  evident,  because  they  are  not  true  representations  of 
the  object,  and  have  their  origin  solely  in  the  imagination 
of  the  statuary  or  painter.  The  only  account  which  an¬ 
tiquity  has  transmitted  to  us  of  the  personal  appearance  of 
our  Savior  is  of  altogether  doubtful  authority.  Beside 
this,  however,  there  are  more  serious  objections  to  such 
representations. 

523.  The  prohibition  extends  yet  further'.  On  the 
pi'inciple  already  explained,  that  w'hen  one  species  of  a 
sin  is  forbidden,  all  the  other  species  of  the  same  sin 
are  forbidden,  the  prohibition  in  the  second  precept 
must  extend  to  all  superstitious  usages  and  mere  human 
inventions  in  the  matter  of  divine  worship.  The  design 
of  the  prohibition  seems  to  have  been,  to  establish  this 
principle,  that  as  God  is  the  sole  object  of  religious  wor¬ 
ship,  so  it  is  his  prerogative  to  dictate  the  mode  of  it.  To 
the  mind  of  man,  blinded  as  it  is  by  depravity,  and  misled 
by  the  imagination  and  the  passions,  observances  might 
recommend  themselves  by  the  pretext  of  fitness  and  de¬ 
cency,  which  the  Supreme  Being  would  reject  as  unworthy 
of  his  nature  and  character.  Deut.  xii.  30 — “  What 
thing  soever  I  command  you,  observe  to  do  it :  thou 
shalt  not  add  thereto,  nor  diminish  from  it.” 

524.  The  only  natural  image  or  representative  of 
God,  which  is  set  before  us  for  our  contemplation,  is  the 
houndless  universe  which  his  hands  have  formed  ;  and  his 
MORAL  image  is  displayed  in  the  laics  which  he  has  pub¬ 
lished,  in  the  movements  of  his  jirovidence,  and  in  the  face 
of  Jesus  Christ,  his  Son,  who  is  “  the  image  of  the  invis¬ 
ible  God,  and  the  brightness  of  his  glory.” 

All  these  exhibitions  of  the  Divine  Majesty  w’e  are  com¬ 
manded  to  contemplate ;  and  it  is  requisite  to  our  obtaining 


SEMI-IDOLATRY  OF  CHRISTIANS. 


227 


the  most  full  and  comprehensive  views  of  the  object  of 
our  adoration,  that  no  one  of  these  displays  of  God  should 
be  overlooked.  It  may  be  admitted  as  an  axiom,  both 
in  natural  and  revealed  theology,  that  our  conceptions  of 
God  will  nearly  correspond  with  the  conceptions  we  ac¬ 
quire  of  the  nature  and  extent  of  his  operations.  In  the 
immense  universe  which  he  has  opened  to  our  view, 
assisted  by  the  most  powerful  telescopes,  he  has  given  us 
an  image  of  his  infinity — an  infinity  of  power,  of  wisdom, 
and  of  benevolence. 

And  hence  the  great  mass  of  Christians  may  almost  be 
regarded  as  half-id olators,  for  want  of  those  expanded 
conceptions  of  God,  which  a  knowledge  of  his  works  is 
adapted  to  afford. 

It  was  chiefly  owing  to  such  criminal  inattention  to  the 
displays  of  the  divine  character  in  the  works  of  creation, 
that  the  inhabitants  of  the  pagan  world  at  first  plunged 
themselves  into  all  the  absurdities  and  abominations  of 
idolatry. 

“  In  reason’s  ear  they  all  rejoice. 

And  utter  forth  a  glorious  voice  ; 

Forever  singing,  as  they  shine, 

‘  The  hand  that  made  us  is  divine.’  ” 

But  the  heathen  world  did  not  listen  to  these  instructions, 
and  hence  “  became  wise  in  their  imaginations,  and  their 
foolish  hearts  were  darkened.”  Wherefore  they  were 
given  up  by  God  to  the  indulgence  of  vile  affections — to 
the  worship  and  service  of  the  creature,  instead  of  the 
Creator,  who  is  blessed  forever. 

And,  even  under  the  Christian  dispensation,  we  have 
too  much  reason  to  fear  that  effects  somewhat  analogous 
to  these  have  been  produced,  and  a  species  of  mental 
idolatry  practiced  by  thousands,  owing  to  their  inattention 
to  the  grand  visible  operations  of  Jehovah,  and  to  their 
not  connecting  them  with  the  displays  of  his  character 
and  agency  as  exhibited  in  the  revelations  of  his  word. 

II. — Requirements  in  the  Second  Precept. 

525.  (1.)  This  precept  requires  us  to  entertain  worthy 
ideas  of  God,  as  a  spiritual  Being,  of  whom  no  -represent¬ 
ation  should  be  formed,  either  with  the  hand  or  by  the 
imagination,  and  to  honor  him  with  spiritual  worship,  the 
worship  of  the  understanding  and  affections. 

(2.)  In  particular,  it  requires  us  to  adhere  to  his  own 


228 


SANCTION  OF  THE  SECOND  PRECEPT. 


institutions,  in  opposition  to  all  human  devices  ;  to  re¬ 
ceive  them  with  due  submission  to  his  authority ;  to 
observe  them  with  outward  reverence,  and  inward  senti¬ 
ments  of  devotion  ;  to  maintain  them  in  their  purity  and 
integrity,  exactly  as  he  has  delivered  them  to  us,  neither 
adding  to  them,  nor  taking  from  them. 

526.  The  ordinances  of  rdigion  are,  prayer,  and  praise, 
the  preaching  of  Scripture  truths,  and  the  celebration  of 
the  sacraments  of  baptism  and  the  Lord’s  supper :  to 
these  may  be  added,  church  government,  the  exercise  of 
discipline,  and  other  particulars  which  it  is  not  necessary 
here  to  mention. 

It  is  evident  that  while  the  prescribed  forms  of  worship 
are  to  be  punctually  observed,  the  precept  calls  for  those 
dispositions  and  exercises  of  mind  of  which  they  are 
significant,  and  which  only  can  give  them  value,  and 
render  them  acceptable  to  the  omniscient  God,  who  looks 
not  upon  the  countenance,  but  upon  the  heart. 

III. — Particular  Sanction  of  this  Precept. 

527.  “  Por  I,  the  hard  thy  God,  am  a  jealous  God, 
Tisiting  the  iniquity  of  the  fathers  upon  the  children  unto 
the  third  and  fourth  generdtions  of  them  that  hate  me  ;  and 
showing  mercy  unto  thousands  of  thern  that  love  me,  and 
heep  my  commandments." 

528.  The  considerations  enforcing  obedience  to  the 
precept,  as  here  set  forth,  are,  chiefly,  a  threatening  of 
evil  upon  themselves  and  upon  their  posterity  if  they  dis¬ 
obeyed  it;  and  a  promise  of  liberal  reward  to  those  who 
should  obey  it. 

There  is  some  difficulty  in  coming  to  an  exact  concep¬ 
tion  of  the  import  of  the  punishment  here  threatened;  and 
writers  have  differed  much  in  their  explanation  of  it. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  that  no  other  sin  but  idolatry 
is  threatened  in  this  particular  manner;  that  the  Jews 
were  placed  under  a  peculiar  form  of  government,  of 
which  Jehovah  was  the  civil  as  well  as  religious  magis¬ 
trate  and  king :  that  idolatry  under  that  government,  be¬ 
side  its  moral  enormity,  was  the  highest  civil  oflense, 
similar  to  high  treason  under  other  governments,  and 
utterly  subversive  of  the  government  unless  restrained  by 
suitable  rewards  and  punishments ;  that  idolatry  is  an 
offense  peculiarly  contagious  as  well  as  demoralizing,  as 


SANCTION  OF  THE  SECOND  PRECEPT. 


229 


the  history  of  nations  fully  shows ;  that  it  was  proper  for 
the  King  of  Israel  to  make  a  strong  appeal  not  only  to 
personal  interest,  but  to  parental  partialities  in  order  to 
check  so  enormous  an  evil,  by  informing  the  Jews  that 
not  themselves  only,  but  their  descendants  to  the  third 
and  fourth  generations,  should  feel  the  effects  of  divine 
displeasure,  upon  their  perpetration  of  idolatry. 

We  have  abundant  proof,  not  only  in  the  history  of 
the  Jews,  but  of  other  nations,  that  it  is  a  principle  of  the 
divine  administration  so  to  order  events  in  this  life  that 
effects  of  sin  are  not  confined  to  the  original  perpetrator, 
but  extend  to  his  children,  and  to  others  connected  with 
him  ;  and  this  probably  is  one  of  the  most  powerful  means 
of  discipline ;  furnishing,  as  it  does,  the  strongest  imagi¬ 
nable  motive  to  every  man  of  common  sensibility  and 
benevolence,  to  pursue  an  upright  and  correct  course  of 
action,  since  not  himself  only,  but  others  are  to  be  mate¬ 
rially  affected  by  his  line  of  conduct.  It  is  supposed  that 
the  hereditary  evils  of  idolatry  are  restricted  to  the  third 
or  fourth  generation,  because  some  transgressors  might 
live  to  see  the  punishment  inflicted  to  that  extent,  and  we 
are  more  affected  by  what  we  see  than  by  remote  evils. 

Tbe  limits  of  the  promise  of  reward  to  the  obedient 
are  not  so  restricted ;  they  extend  to  the  thousandth. 
The  good  conduct  of  Abraham,  the  pious  ancestor  of  the 
Jews,  was  followed,  in  successive  ages,  by  great  bless¬ 
ings  conferred,  for  his  sake,  upon  his  descendants. 

On  the  whole,  the  sanction  implies  that  not  only  per¬ 
sonal,  but  domestic  evils,  for  several  generations,  would 
be  experienced,  should  the  Jews  fall  into  idolatry;  while 
great  blessings,  personal,  domestic,  and  national,  would 
be  conferred  upon  those  who  continued  to  worship  the 
true  God,  in  a  spiritual  and  affectionate  manner  ;  not  by 
the  use  of  visible  representations,  which  are  an  insult  to 
the  infinite  one,  a  debasement  of  bis  character  and  wor¬ 
ship,  and  a  certain  introducer  of  the  crime  of  idolatry  and 
of  all  its  bad  effects. 

The  history  of  the  Jews,  in  subsequent  periods,  veri¬ 
fies  the  correctness  of  this  exposition. 

[Professor  Dick’s  Lectures  ;  Archbishop  Seeker’s  Works  ;  Dick’s  Phi- 
losophy  of  Religion.] 

514.  How  is  the  second  distinguished  from  the  first  precept? 

515.  What  is  to  be  understood  by  the  terms  “  graven  image,”  and  “  like¬ 
ness,”  here  employed  ? 


230 


THE  THIRD  COMMANDMENT. 


516.  Does  this  commandment,  as  some  suppose,  forbid  the  practice  of 
the  arts  of  sculpture  and  painting  ? 

517.  What  does  this  commandment  prohibit? 

518.  What  considerations  show  the  reasonableness  of  this  prohibition 
in  the  second  precept,  and  the  folly  and  absurdity  of  the  practice  against 
which  it  is  directed  ? 

519.  What  is  known  concerning  the  use  of  images  among  the  early 
heathen®  ? 

520.  What  may  be  assigned  as  perhaps  the  principal  reason  why  any- 
representation  of  God  is  forbidden  in  this  commandment? 

521.  Have  not  some  maintained  that  the  second  precept  only  forbids  the 
making  and  worshiping  the  representations  of  false  gods ;  and  is  not  this 
a  correct  view  of  the  subject  ? 

522.  Is  it  proper  to  make  representations  of  Jesus  Christ  ? 

523.  Does  the  second  precept  virtually  extend  its  prohibition  to  any 
thing  beside  visible  representations  of  the  true  God  ? 

524.  What  images  are  there  of  God,  which  we  may  legitimately  employ 
as  means  of  promoting  a  more  just  knowledge  and  worship  of  God? 

525.  What  does  this  precept  require  ? 

526.  What  are  the  ordinances  of  religion  which  God  has  established ;  or 
what  are  the  means,  in  the  use  of  which  He  has  authorized  and  command¬ 
ed  us  to  worship  him  ? 

527.  In  what  words  is  the  sanction  of  this  precept  conveyed  ? 

528.  Of  what  parts  does  this  sanction  consist,  and  what  is  its  probable 
import  ? 


THE  THIRD  COMMANDMENT. 

“  Thou  shall  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain  ;  for  the  Lord  will  not 
hold  him  guiltless  that  taketh  his  name  in  vain.” 

529.  The  name  of  any  person  is  that  which  clistinguishos 
him  fi'om  other  individuals ;  so  the  name  of  God  is  that 
which  distinguishes  him  from  other  beings  ;  as  God,  Lord, 
the  Almighty,  &c, 

530.  To  take  this  name,  is  to  use  it  in  discourse ;  to 
take  it  in  vain,  is  to  use  any  of  the  titles  or  designations 
of  the  Divine  Majesty,  for  trifling,  vain,  and  evil  purposes ; 
it  is  also,  to  treat  any  displays  of  his  character  with  levity, 
profaneness,  or  irreverence. 

1.  The  Nature  and  Lawfulness  of  Oaths. 

531.  Oaths  are  one  particular  form  of  using  the  name 
of  God ;  or  the  name  of  God  is  used  in  swearing  by  it. 
As  a  simple  declaration  may  not  be  deemed  sufficient, 
when  the  character  of  the  speaker  is  unknown,  his  mo¬ 
tives  are  suspected,  or  the  matter  is  of  too  much  im¬ 
portance  to  be  lightly  determined,  men  have  been  accus¬ 
tomed  to  demand  the  confirmation  o-f  it  by  an  oath,  that 
is,  by  an  appeal  to  God,  as  the  witness  of  our  veracity,  and 
the  Judge  who  will  punish  us  if  we  are  guilty  of  false¬ 
hood. 


LAWFULNESS  OF  OATHS. 


231 


532.  Some  have  denied  the  lawfulness  of  an  oath,  and 
have  affirmed  that  it  is  sinful  to  swear  upon  any  occasion  ; 
but  the  following  arguments  may  be  adduced  in  refuta¬ 
tion  of  this  opinion  : — 

(1.)  Among  the  Israelites,  the  custom  of  swearing  upon 
solemn  occasions  existed,  and  is  constantly  taken  for 
granted  in  the  Old  Testament.  Oaths  are  there  com¬ 
manded  as  a  part  of  the  usual  judicial  procedure  ;  thus. 
Exodus  xxii.  11,  “  If  a  man  deliver  unto  his  neighbor,  &c., 
then  shall  an  oath  of  the  Lord  be  between  them  both.” 

(2.)  The  Scriptures  give  directions  how  to  swear,  viz., 
in  truth,  judgment,  and  righteousness. 

(3.)  In  Psalm  xv.  4,  it  is  mentioned  among  the  charac¬ 
ters  of  a  good  man,  that  he  sweareth  to  his  hurt.,  and 
changeth  not. 

(4.)  The  denunciation  of  God’s  anger  against  false 
swearing,  implies  a  sanction  of  swearing,  when  truly  em¬ 
ployed. 

(5.)  We  cannot  suppose  God  to  disapprove  of  the  prac¬ 
tice,  when  he  is  repeatedly  represented  as  himself  having 
sworn  an  oath  to  Abraham,  to  David,  and  to  the  people 
of  Israel  on  vai’ious  occasions. 

(6.)  The  command,  “  Thou  shalt  not  take  the  name  of 
the  Lord  thy  God  in  vain,”  implies  that  the  name  might 
be  used  on  fitting  and  important  occasions  ;  and  the  com¬ 
mand  is  adapted  to  keep  up  the  solemn  reverence  for  the 
thought  of  God,  which  an  oath  implies. 

(7.)  If  it  be  objected,  that  what  was  tolerated  under  the 
old  dispensation,  has  been  prohibited  under  the  new,  it  is 
to  be  observed  that  there  are  good  examples  of  swearing, 
on  important  occasions,  to  be  found  in  the  New  Testa7nent, 
as  well  as  in  the  Old. 

When  Paul  says,  “  I  call  God  for  a  record  upon  my 
soul “  God  is  my  witness  “  I  say  the  truth  in  Christ, 
I  lie  not,  my  conscience  also  bearing  me  witness  in  the 
Holy  Ghost,”  his  language,  in  all  these  instances,  and 
particularly  in  the  last  two,  amounts  to  an  oath. 

Our  Savior  recognized  the  lawfulness  of  an  oath,  when 
one  having  been  administered  to  him,  according  to  the 
form  of  his  country,  he  broke  the  silence  which  he  had 
hitherto  observed,  and  answered  the  question  of  the  high 
priest.  Matt.  xxvi.  63. 

It  is  impossible  to  understand  the  wnrds  of  the  apostle 


232 


LAWFULNESS  OF  OATHS. 


in  any  other  way  than  as  a  sanction  of  the  practice,  wlien 
he  says,  “  Men  verily  swear  by  the  greater,  and  an  oath 
for  confirmation  is  an  end  of  all  strife.” 

533.  A  difficulty  here  occurs.  Our  Savior  (Matt.  v. 
34)  says,  “  Swear  not  at  all,”  and  the  apostle  James  re¬ 
iterates  the  same  prohibition.  But  it  is  a  misapprehen¬ 
sion  of  our  Savior’s  words  to  consider  them  as  an  absolute 
prohibition  of  an  oath  ;  because  it  is  plain,  from  his  own 
illustration,  that  he  meant  only  to  forbid  the  practice  of 
swearing  in  common  conversation,  and  particularly  of 
swearing  by  creatures.  The  forms  of  swearing  men¬ 
tioned,  were  not  used  in  judicial  swearing,  or  in  civil 
courts  ;  and  hence  our  Savior  must  refer  to  swearing  on 
common  occasions,  Avithout  necessity,  without  reverence 
for  God. 

As  with  regard  to  retaliation,  to  divorce,  to  honoring 
of  parents,  to  angry  expressions,  the  Jewish  teachers  had 
made  .subtile  distinctions  as  to  what  was  and  was  not  a 
transgression  of  the  law,  while  they  had  neglected  the 
spirit  of  the  law ;  so  with  regard  to  swearing.  The 
trivial  and  thous^htless  use  of  forms  of  swearingr  had  be- 
come  common,  and  the  teachers  had  laid  down  rules  as 
to  which  of  these  forms  were  binding,  and  which  were 
not  so.  In  this,  as  in  the  other  cases,  Christ  rejects  these 
distinctions,  and  says  of  such  cases  (Matt.  v.  34),  “  I  say 
unto  you,  swear  not  at  all.”  That  this  is  the  import  of 
his  words  is  plain  from  the  course  of  teaching  in  this 
place.  He  had  said,  “  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  de¬ 
stroy  the  law  and  the  prophets ;”  but  he  would  have  been 
engaged  in  destroying  them  if  he  had  forbidden  judicial 
oaths,  for  the  law  enjoined  them,  as  we  have  seen. 

[See  Whewell’s  Elements  of  Morality.] 

534.  The  inquiry  here  must  be  answered.  When  may 
an  oath  be  administered,  and  how  should  it  be  taken  ] 
We  answer — 

(1.)  An  oath  should  be  sworn  only  on  such  occasions 
as  call  for  this  solemnity, — about  matters  of  importance, 
and  with  respect  to  which  satisfaction  cannot  be  otherwise 
obtained.  God  is  too  great  and  •awful  a  being  to  be 
appealed  to  as  a  witness  for  every  trifling  puiqjose. 

(2.)  An  oath  should  be  taken  with  extei-nal  and  inter¬ 
nal  reverence,  and  be  regarded  not  as  a  mere  cere¬ 
mony,  but  as  a  religious  institution,  which  places  us 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  OATHS. 


233 


in  the  immediate  presence  of  the  Judge  of  men  and 
angels. 

(3.)  JVe  sliotild  he  fully  acquainted  with  the  subject  of 
an  oath  ;  for  to  swear  to  anything  of  which  we  ai'e  igno¬ 
rant,  or  about  which  we  are  in  doubt,  is  at  once  to  deceive 
men,  and  to  set  at  naught  the  divine  omniscience. 

(4.)  We  should  take  an  oath  according  to  the  obvious 
meaning  of  it,  in  the  sense  in  which  it  is  understood  by 
those  who  administer  it,  to  the  exclusion  of  all  pnvate 
interpretations,  and  all  mental  reservations. 

(5-)  We  ought  to  be  sincere  in  giving  a  'promissory  oath, 
having  a  fixed  intention  to  perform  what  we  pledge  our¬ 
selves  to  do,  and  never  thinking  ourselves  released  from 
the  obligation,  except  by  such  a  change  of  circumstances 
as  renders  it  physically  impossible  to  redeem  our  pledge, 
or  would  make  it  sinful  to  do  so,  because  some  other 
duty  of  paramount  authority  has  intervened.  It  is  plain, 
therefore,  that  ice  should  never  bind  ourselves  by  oath  to 
do  anything  xchich  ive  know  to  be  morally  wrong,  anything 
which  would  impede  our  duty  to  God,  or  to  such  of 
our  fellow-men  as  have  a  prior  claim  to  our  service  and 
obedience. 


II. — Prohibitions  in  this  Precept. 

535.  {a.)  The  first  and  highest  offense  against  this  pre¬ 
cept  is  perjury  :  when  we  swear  by  the  name  of  God 
falsely.  For  vanity,  in  Scripture,  frequently  means  some¬ 
thing  which  is  not  what  it  would  appear ;  and  hence, 
using  God’s  name,  in  vain,  or  to  vanity,  principally  sig¬ 
nifies,  applying  it  to  confirm  a  falsehood.  Doing  this 
deliberately  is  one  of  the  most  shocking  crimes  of  which 
we  can  be  guilty.  For  taking  an  oath  is  declaring  sol¬ 
emnly,  that  we  know  ourselves  to  be  in  the  presence  of 
God,  and  Him  to  be  witness  of  what  we  speak :  it  is 
appealing  to  Him,  that  our  words  express  the  very  truth 
of  our  minds,  and  renouncing  all  title  to  his  mercy,  if 
they  do  not.  In  other  sins,  men  endeavor  to  forget  God  ; 
but  perjury  is  daring  and  braving  the  Almighty  to  his 
very  face  ;  bidding  him  take  notice  of  the  falsehood  we 
utter,  and  do  his  worst. 

536.  We  commit  perjury,  (1.)  if  ever  we  swear  that 
we  do  not  know  or  believe  what  indeed  we  do ;  or  that 
we  do  know  or  believe  what  indeed  we  do  not ;  if  ever, 


234 


PERJURY. 


being  under  oath,  we  mislead  those  whom  we  ought  to 
inform ;  and  give  any  other  than  the  most  exact  and  fair 
account  that  we  can,  of  any  matter  concerning  which  we 
are  examined. 

(2.)  We  commit  perjury,  if  we  promise,  under  oath, 
to  do  a  thing,  without  firmly  designing  to  do  it ;  or  if  we 
promise  not  to  do  a  thing,  without  firmly  designing  to 
abstain  from  it.  Nay,  further :  provided  the  thing  which 
we  promise  be  lawful,  if  we  do  not  ever  after  take  all 
the  care  that  can  reasonably  be  expected  to  make  our 
promise  good,  we  are  guilty  of  peijury,  and  of  living  in 
it,  so  long  as  we  live  in  that  neglect. 

If,  indeed,  a  person  has  sworn  to  do  what  he  thought 
he  could  do,  and  it  proves  afterward,  unexpectedly,  that 
he  cannot,  he  is  chargeable  only  with  mistake,  or  incon¬ 
siderateness  at  most. 

(3.)  If  we  either  promise,  or  threaten,  anything  which 
we  cannot  lawfully  do,  the  making  of  such  a  promise  is 
a  sin,  but  keeping  it  would  be  another,  perhaps  a  greater 
sin ;  and,  therefore,  it  innocently  may,  and  in  conscience 
ought  to  be  broken ;  but  if  we  have  promised  what  we 
may  lawfully,  but  only  cannot  conveniently  perfoj'm,  we 
are  by  no  means  on  that  account  released  from  our  en¬ 
gagement;  unless  either  we  were  unqualified  to  promise, 
or  the  person  to  whom  we  have  engaged  voluntarily  sets 
us  at  liberty  ;  or  the  circumstances  of  the  case  be  plainly 
and  confessedly  such,  that  our  promise  was  not  CK’iginally 
designed  to  bind  us  in  them. 

537.  Enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  perjury  is  the 
most  direct  and  gross  affront  to  God,  for  which  reason  it 
is  forbidden  in  the  first  table  of  the  law ;  but  beside  this, 
it  inflicts  the  greatest  injury  upon  our  fellow-creatures, 
on  which  account  it  is  prohibited  in  one  of  the  laws  of 
the  second  table. 

If  persons  will  assert  falsely,  upon  oath,  no  one  knows 
what  to  believe  ;  no  one’s  property,  or  life,  is  safe ;  no 
one  can  know  whom  to  trust;  all  security  of  government 
and  of  human  society,  all  mutual  confidence  in  trade  and 
commerce,  in  every  relation  and  condition,  is  utterly  at 
an  end.  With  the  greatest  reason,  therefore,  are  perjured 
wretches  al)horred  of  all  the  world. 

No  Interest  of  our  own,  no  kindness  or  compassion 
for  other  persons  ;  no  turn  or  purpose  whatever  to  be 


UNLAWFUL  OATHS. 


235 


served  by  it,  can  ever  justify  our  swerving  at  all  from 
truth,  either  in  giving  evidence,  or  in  entering  into  en¬ 
gagements.  Nor  must  we  think,  in  such  cases,  to  come 
off  with  equivocations,  evasions,  and  quibbles,  and  imagine 
it  innocent  to  deceive  in  this  way. 

One  thing  more  should  be  added  here,  for  it  cannot 
well  be  mentioned  too  often,  that  next  to  false  swearing, 
false  sgeahing  and  lying,  whether  in  what  we  assert,  or 
what  we  promise,  is  a  grievous  sin,  and  hateful  to  God 
and  man  ;  though  we  do  not  call  on  our  Maker  to  be 
witness,  yet  he  is  a  witness  of  whatever  we  say,  and  it  is 
presumptuous  wickedness  to  utter  an  untruth  in  the 
presence  of  the  God  of  truth.  It  is  also  at  the  same  time 
very  hurtful  to  other  persons,  and  very  foolish  with  respect 
to  ourselves. 

538.  (h.)  This  precept  is  violated  not  only  by  false 
swearing,  or  perjury,  but  in  other  ways:  as  when  we 
stvear  implicitly,  witbout  knowing  beforehand  the  nature 
and  extent  of  the  obligation,  as  in  the  case  of  Jepthah; 
when  we  swear  lightly  and  irreverently ,  using  the  name 
of  God  with  as  little  respect  as  we  would  show  to  that  of 
a  man ;  when  we  do  not  regard  the  mind  or  obvious  in¬ 
tention  of  the  imposer  of  the  oath,  but  substitute  a  mean¬ 
ing  of  our  own  as  a  subterfuge  imder  which  we  may 
escape  from  the  understood  obligation ;  when  we  swear 
to  what  we  know  to  be  impossible,  or  what  we  know  to 
be  sinful ;  when  we  swear,  in  doubt  with  respect  to  the 
practicability  or  the  lawfulness  of  the  action  to  which  we 
bind  ourselves;  when  we  swear  to  release  ourselves  from 
a  previous  obligation,  as  some  of  the  Jews  professedly 
devoted  their  property  to  God,  that  they  might  be  relieved 
from  the  duty  f)f  supporting  their  parents. 

539.  (c.)  Another  way  of  taking  God’s  name  in  vain 
is,  when  we  swear  by  it  needlessly,  though  it  be  not 
falsely  ;  for  this  also  the  words  in  vain  signify. 

(1.)  One  way  of  doing  so,  is  by  rash  and  inconsiderate 
vows  ;  for  a  vow,  being  a  promise  made  solemnly  to  God, 
partakes  of  the  nature  of  an  oath.  There  may  sometimes 
be  good  reasons  for  entering  into  such  an  engagement ; 
but  vowing  to  do  what  there  is  no  use  of  doing,  is  trifling 
with  our  Creator.  Making  unlawful  vows,  is  directly 
telling  him  we  will  disobey  him.  Making  such  as  are 
difficult  to  keep,  is  leading  ourselves  into  temptation; 


236 


PROFANE  SWEARING. 


and,  indeed,  making  any  without  much  thought  and 
prudent  advice  first,  usually  proves  an  unhappy  snare. 
The  vow  of  entire  consecration  to  God,  however,  should 
he  made  and  observed  by  all ;  and  that  comprehends  all 
that  can  lawfully  be  made. 

(2.)  Another  very  needless,  and  always  sinful  use  of 
God’s  name,  is  by  oaths  in  common  discourse.  Too  many 
are  there  who  fill  up  with  them  a  great  part  of  their  most 
trifling  conversation,  especially  in  their  animated  moods 
of  feeling. 

Now  it  is  unavoidable,  persons  who  are  perpetually 
sicearing  must  frequently  themselves.  But  were 

that  not  the  case,  it  is  great  irreverence,  upon  every 
slight  thing  we  say,  to  invoke  God  for  a  witness,  and 
mingle  his  holy  and  reverend  name  with  the  most  idle 
things  that  come  out  of  our  mouths. 

And  what  makes  this  practice  the  more  inexcusable,  is, 
that  we  cannot  have  either  any  advantage  from  it,  or  any 
natural  pleasure  in  it.  Generally,  it  is  nothing  more 
than  a  silly  and  profane  custom,  inconsiderately  taken 
up ;  and  there  are  the  strongest  reasons  for  laying  it  down 
immediately. 

540.  Beside  what  have  been  mentioned,  there  are 
other  considerations,  which  evince  the  folly  and  crimi¬ 
nality  of  qyrofane  swearing. 

(1.)  It  causes  us  to  be  disliked  and  abhorred  by  all 
good  persons,  and  even  by  all  persons  of  good-breeding 
only ;  and  it  scarcely  recommends  us  to  the  vicious 
generally. 

(2.)  No  person  is  the  sooner  believed  for  his  frequent 
swearing  in  conversation :  on  the  contrary,  a  modest  and 
serious  affirmation  is  always  much  more  regarded. 

(3.)  If  swearing  be  affected  as  becoming,  it  is  certainly 
quite  otherwise,  in  the  highest  degree.  The  very  phrases 
used  in  it,  as  well  as  the  occasions  on  which  they  are 
used,  are  almost  constantly  absurd  and  foolish ;  and 
surely  profaneness  can  never  lessen  the  folly. 

It  is  also  acknowledged  to  be  disrespectful  to  the 
company  in  which  they  are  used :  and  if  regard  to  their 
earthly  superiors  can  restrain  persons  from  swearing, 
why  should  not  the  reverence,  due  to  our  heavenly 
F ather,  do  it  much  more  effectually. 

(4.)  The  indulgence  of  this  vicious  habit  wears  off,  by 


PROFANE  SWEARING. 


237 


degrees,  all  sense  of  religion,  and  of  everything  that  is 
good. 

A  King  reproved  for  Profane  Swearing. 

541.  A  king  was  riding  along  in  disguise,  and  seeing  a 
soldier  at  a  public  door,  stopped  and  asked  the  soldier  to 
drink  with  him,  and  while  they  were  drinking  the  king 
swore.  The  soldier  said,  “  I  am  sorry  to  hear  young 
gentlemen  swear.”  His  majesty  took  no  notice,  but 
swore  again.  The  soldier  said,  “  I’ll  pay  part  of  the  pot, 
if  you  please,  and  go,  for  I  so  hate  swearing  that  if  you 
were  the  king  himself  I  would  tell  you  of  it.”  “  Should 
you,  indeed  V’  said  the  king.  “  I  should,”  said  the 
soldiei'.  A  while  after,  the  king  having  invited  some 
lords  to  dine  with  him,  the  soldier  was  sent  for,  and 
while  they  were  at  dinner  he  was  ordered  into  the  room 
to  wait  a  while.  Presently  the  king  uttered  an  oath ; 
the  soldier  immediately,  but  modestly  said,  “  Should  not 
my  lord  and  king  fear  an  oath  1”  The  king,  looking  first 
at  the  soldier,  said:  “  Thei'e,  my  lords,  is  an  honest  man; 
he  can  respectfully  remind  me  of  the  great  sin  of  swear¬ 
ing,  but  you  can  sit  and  let  me  stain  my  soul  by  swear¬ 
ing,  and  not  so  much  as  tell  me  of  it.” 

542.  In  view  of  such  kind  of  swearing,  the  language 
of  the  great  teacher  is  :  “  But  I  say  unto  you,  Swear  not 
at  all :  neither  by  heaven,  for  it  is  God’s  throne  ;  nor  by 
the  earth,  for  it  is  his  footstool :  neither  by  Jerusalem, 
for  it  is  the  city  of  the  Great  King :  neither  shalt  thou 
swear  by  thy  head,  for  thou  canst  not  make  one  hair 
white  or  black.  But  let  your  communication  be  yea, 
yea ;  nay,  nay :  for  whatsoever  is  more  than  these 
cometh  of  evil.” — Matt.  v.  34—36. 

That  is,  avoid,  not  only  the  grosser  oaths,  but  all  the 
silly  refinements  and  softenings  of  them,  which  men  have 
contrived,  in  hope  to  make  them  seem  innocent :  for, 
though  the  name  of  God  be  not  expressed,  yet,  if  it  be 
implied  by  mentioning  something  relating  to  God,  in¬ 
stead  of  himself;  indeed,  whatever  form  is  used,  the  in¬ 
tent  is  the  same,  and  it  will  have  the  effect  of  bringing 
into  familiarity  and  contempt  a  sacred  obligation. 

■  It  appears  that  such  oaths  as  our  Savior  specified 
above  were  frequent  among  the  Jews;  and  our  Lord, 
in  forbidding  these,  condemns  all  similar  oaths,  such  as 


238 


PROFANENESS. 


tliose  which  are  current  among  Christians  who  sw’ear  hy 
their  faith,  their  truth,  their  conscience,  and,  in  popish 
countries,  by  the  saints. 

There  are  occasions  upon  which  it  is  right  and  dutiful 
in  us  to  use  an  oath,  as  we  have  shown  ;  but  in  our  daily 
talk  with  each  other,  it  is  our  Savior’s  peremptory  pre¬ 
cept,  Swear  not  at  all;  and  it  is  a  rule  so  evidently  right 
and  important,  that  even  heathens  have  strictly  enjoined 
and  followed  it,  to  the  shame  of  too  many  who  call  them¬ 
selves  Christians. 

543.  {d.)  A  crime,  similar  to  that  of  common  swear¬ 
ing,  is  committed  when  men  utter  impious  and  horrid 
imprecations  or  curses  upon  themselves  or  upon  others; 
or,  on  the  other  hand,  when,  without  the  slightest  feeling 
of  devotion,  they  call  upon  Him  to  bless,  preserve,  or 
help  them.  To  wish  the  heaviest  judgments  of  God, 
and  even  eternal  damnation  to  a  person,  on  the  slightest 
cause,  or  none  at  all;  to  wish  the  same  to  ourselves,  if 
some  trifling  thing  that  we  are  saying  be  not  true,  which 
frequently,  after  all,  is  not  true,  amounts  to  the  most 
desperate  impiety,  if  men,  using  this  language,  consider 
what  they  say.  And  though  they  do  not,  it  is  even  then 
thoughtlessly  treating  God,  and  his  laws,  and  the  awful 
sanctions  of  them,  with  contempt ;  and  blotting  out  of 
their  minds  all  serious  regard  to  subjects  that  will  one 
day  be  found  most  serious  things. 

544.  (e.)  Beside  the  oflenses  already  mentioned,  this 
precept  forbids  all  indecent  and  unfit  use  of  God’s  name, 
the  name  of  Christ,  or  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  our  dis¬ 
course,  though  it  be  not  in  swearing  or  cursing;  all 
accusations,  of  Providence ;  all  reflections  against  Scrip¬ 
ture,  and  all  contempt  and  ridicule  with  a  view  of  under¬ 
mining  its  divine  authority;  all  dishonorable  thoughts  of 
God,  and  all  sneering  at  his  public  or  private  worship, 
and  at  the  relis^ious  ordinances  he  has  ap])ointed  ;  all 
irreverent  and  flippant  sayings  concerning  God’s  nature 
and  attributes,  his  actions  and  commands.  In  short,  it 
forbids  the  jyrofanation  or  abuse  of  anything  by  which  he 
has  made  himself  knoivn. 

545.  (/•)  The  treatment  of  Christianity  in  the  writings 
and  discourse  of  many  of  its  adversaries,  can  be  regarded 
in  no  other  light  than  as  a  gross  violation  of  the  Third 
C  ommandment. 


PROFANE  TREATMENT  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  239 


While  we  would  have  freedom  of  inquiry  restrained  by 
no  laws  but  those  of  decency,  toe  arc  entitled  to  demand, 
on  behalf  of  a  religion  which  holds  forth  to  mankind  assur¬ 
ances  of  immortality ,  that  its  credit  be  assailed  by  no  other 
weapons  than  those  of  sober  discussion  and  legitimate  rea¬ 
soning :  that  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  Christianity  be 
never  made  a  topic  of  raillery,  a  theme  for  the  exercise 
of  wit :  that  the  cause  be  tried  upon  its  merits  :  that  all 
attempts  to  preoccupy,  ensnare,  or  perplex  the  judgment 
of  the  reader  by  any  art  or  influence,  extrinsic  to  the 
proper  grounds  upon  which  his  assent  ought  to  proceed, 
be  rejected  from  a  question  which  involves  in  its  deter¬ 
mination  the  hopes,  the  virtue,  and  the  repose  of  millions  : 
that  the  controversy  be  managed  on  both  sides  with  sin¬ 
cerity;  that  is,  that  nothing  be  produced,  in  the  writings 
of  either,  contrary  to,  or  beyond  the  writer’s  own  knowl¬ 
edge  and  persuasion :  that  objections  and  difficulties  be 
proposed  from  no  other  motive,  than  an  honest  and  seri¬ 
ous  desire  to  obtain  satisfaction,  or  to  communicate  in¬ 
formation  which  may  promtoe  the  discovery  and  progress 
of  truth. 

546.  We  shall  now  show  in  what  an  opposite  and  pro¬ 
fane  manner  the  Christian  religion  has  been  treated  by  its 
adversaries. 

(1.)  By  one  unbeliever,  all  the  follies  which  have  ad¬ 
hered,  in  a  long  course  of  dark  and  superstitious  ages,  to 
the  popular  creed,  are  assumed  as  so  many  doctrines  of 
Christ  and  his  apostles,  for  the  purpose  of  subverting  the 
whole  system  by  the  absurdities  which  it  is  thus  repre¬ 
sented  to  contain. 

(2.)  By  another,  the  ignorance  and  vices  of  the  sacer¬ 
dotal  order,  their  mutual  dissensions  and  persecutions, 
their  encroachments  upon  the  intellectual  liberty  and  civil 
rights  of  mankind,  have  been  displayed  with  no  small  tri¬ 
umph  and  invective  ;  not  so  much  to  guard  the  Christian 
laity  against  a  repetition  of  the  same  injuries  (which  is 
the  only  proper  use  to  be  made  of  the  most  flagrant  ex¬ 
amples  of  the  past),  as  to  prepare  the  way  for  an  insinu¬ 
ation  that  the  religion  itself  is  nothing  but  a  profitable 
fable,  imposed  upon  the  fears  and  credulity  of  the  multi¬ 
tude,  and  upheld  by  the  frauds  and  influence  of  an  in¬ 
terested  and  crafty  priesthood.  And  yet  how  remotely  is 
the  character  of  the  clergy  connected  with  Christianity ! 


240  PROFANE  TREATMENT  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

What,  after  all,  does  the  most  disgraceful  page  of  eccle- 
eiastical  history  prove  but  that  the  passions  of  our  common 
nature  are  not  altered  or  excluded  by  distinctions  of 
name,  and  that  the  characters  of  men  are  formed  much 
more  by  the  temptations  than  the  duties  of  their  profes¬ 
sion  ? 

(3.)  A  third  finds  delight  in  collecting  and  repeating 
accounts  of  wars  and  massacres,  of  tumults  and  insurrec¬ 
tions  excited  in  almost  every  age  of  the  Christian  era  by 
religious  zeal  :  as  though  the  vices  of  Christians  were 
parts  of  Christianity;  as  though  intolerance  and  extirpa¬ 
tion  w'ere  precepts  of  the  Gospel ;  or  as  if  its  spirit  could 
be  judged  of  from  the  counsels  of  princes,  the  intrigues 
of  statesmen,  the  pretenses  of  malice  and  ambition,  or  the 
unauthorized  cruelties  of  some  gloomy  and  virulent  super¬ 
stition. 

(4.)  By  a  fourth,  the  succession  and  variety  of  popular 
religions ;  the  vicissitudes  with  which  sects  and  tenets 
have  flourished  and  decayed;  the  zeal  with  which  they 
were  once  supported,  the  negligence  with  which  they  are 
now  remembered  ;  the  little  share  which  reason  and  argu¬ 
ment  appear  to  have  had  in  framing  the  creed,  or  regula¬ 
ting  the  religious  conduct  of  the  multitude;  the  indifference 
and  submission  with  which  the  religion  of  the  state  is  gen¬ 
erally  received  by  the  common  people ;  the  caprice  and 
vehemence  with  which  it  is  sometimes  opposed  ;  the 
phrensy  with  which  men  have  been  brought  to  contend 
for  opinions  and  cei’emonies,  of  which  they  knew  neither 
the  proof,  the  meaning,  nor  the  original ;  lastly,  the  equal 
and  undoubting  confidence  with  which  we  hear  the  doc¬ 
trines  of  Christ,  or  of  Confucius,  the  law  of  Moses,  or  of 
Mohammed,  the  Bible,  the  Koran,  or  the  Shaster,  main¬ 
tained  or  anathematized,  taught  or  abjured,  revered  or 
derided,  according  as  we  live  on  this,  or  on  that  side  of 
a  river;  keep,  or  step  over,  the  boundaries  of  a  state: 
points  of  this  sort  are  exhibited  to  the  public  attention,  as 
so  many  arguments  against  the  truth  of  the  Christian  re¬ 
ligion — and  with  success.  For  these  topics  being  brought 
together,  and  set  off  with  some  exaggeration  of  circum¬ 
stances,  and  with  a  vivacity  of  style  and  description  com¬ 
mon  enough  to  the  writings  and  conversation  of  free¬ 
thinkers,  insensibly  lead  the  imagination  into  a  habit  of 
classing  Christianity  with  the  delusions  that  have  taken 


PROFANE  TREATMENT  OF  CHRISTIANITY.  241 

possession,  by  turns,  of  the  public  belief;  and  into  a  habit 
of  regarding  it,  as  what  the  scoffers  of  our  faith  represent 
it  to  be,  the  superstition  of  the  day. 

But  is  this  to  deal  honestly  by  the  subject,  or  with  the 
world  %  May  not  the  same  things  be  said,  may  not  the 
same  prejudices  be  excited  by  these  representations, 
whether  Christianity  be  true  or  false,  or  by  whatever 
proofs  its  truth  be  attested  1  May  not  truth  as  well  as 
falsehood  be  taken  upon  credit  ]  May  not  religion  be 
founded  upon  evidence  accessible  and  satisfactory  to 
every  mind  competent  to  the  inquiry,  which  yet,  by  the 
greatest  part  of  its  professors,  is  received  upon  authority  % 

547.  Infidelity  is  served  up  in  every  shape  that  is  likely 
to  allure,  surprise,  or  beguile  the  imagination;  in  a  fable, 
a  tale,  a  novel,  a  poem ;  in  intersjjersed  and  broken 
hints  ;  remote  and  oblique  surmises ;  in  books  of  travels, 
of  philosophy,  and  natural  history ;  in  a  word,  in  any 
form  rather  than  the  right  one,  that  of  a  professed  and 
regular  disquisition. 

And  because  the  coarse  buffoonery  and  broad  laugh  of 
the  old  and  rude  adversaries  of  the  Christian  faith  would 
offend  the  taste,  perhaps,  rather  than  the  virtue,  of  this  cul¬ 
tivated  age,  a  grave  irony,  a  more  skillful  and  delicate  ban¬ 
ter,  is  substituted  in  their  place.  An  eloquent  historian 
(Gibbon),  beside  his  more  direct,  and  therefore  fairer,  at¬ 
tacks  upon  the  credibility  of  the  evangelic  story,  has  con¬ 
trived  to  weave  into  his  narrative  one  continued  sneer  upon 
the  cause  of  Christianity,  and  upon  the  writings  and  char¬ 
acters  of  its  ancient  patrons.  The  knowledge  which  this 
author  professed  of  the  frame  and  conduct  of  the  human 
mind,  must  have  led  him  to  observe,  that  such  attacks  do 
their  execution  without  exciting  inquiry.  TVho  can  re¬ 
fute  a  sneer  1  Who  can  compute  the  number,  much 
less,  one  by  one,  scrutinize  the  justice,  of  those  dispara¬ 
ging  insinuations,  which  crowd  the  pages  of  this  elaborate 
history  (Decline  and  Fall  of  the  Roman  Empire)  1  What 
reader  suspends  his  curiosity,  or  calls  off  his  attention 
from  the  principal  narrative,  to  examine  references,  to 
search  into  the  foundation,  or  to  weigh  the  reason,  pro¬ 
priety,  and  force  of  every  transient  sarcasm,  and  sly  allu¬ 
sion,  by  which  the  Christian  testimony  is  depreciated  and 
traduced;  and  by  which,  nevertheless,  he  may  find  his 
persuasion  afterward  unsettled  and  perplexed  ] 

L 


242  PROFANE  TREATMENT  OF  CHRISTIANITY. 

548.  The  enemies  of  Christianity  have  pursued  her 
with  poisoned  arrows.  Ohscenitij  itself  is  made  the  vehicle 
of  infidelity .  The  awful  doctrines,  if  we  be  not  permitted 
to  call  them  the  sacred  truths,  of  our  religion,  together 
with  all  the  adjuncts  and  appendages  of  its  worship  and 
external  profession,  have  sometimes  been  impudently 
profaned  by  an  unnatural  conjunction  with  impure  and 
lascivious  images.  The  fondness  for  ridicule  is  almost 
universal;  and  ridicule,  to  many  minds,  is  never  so  iiTe- 
sistible  as  when  seasoned  with  obJfcenity,  and  employed 
upon  religion.  But  in  proportion  as  these  noxious  prin¬ 
ciples  take  hold  of  the  imagination,  they  infatuate  the 
judgment ;  for  trains  of  ludicrous  and  unchaste  associa¬ 
tions  adhering  to  every  sentiment  and  mention  of  religion, 
render  the  mind  indisposed  to  receive  either  conviction 
from  its  evidence,  or  impressions  from  its  authority.  And 
this  effect  being  exerted  upon  the  sensitive  part  of  our 
nature,  is  altogether  independent  of  argument,  proof,  or 
reason ;  is  as  formidable  to  a  true  religion  ns  to  a  false 
one ;  to  a  well  grounded  faith,  as  to  a  chimerical  my¬ 
thology,  or  fabulous  tradition.  Neither,  let  it  be  ob¬ 
served,  is  the  crime  or  danger  less,  because  impure  ideas 
are  exhibited  under  a  veil,  in  covert  and  chastised  lan¬ 
guage. 

549.  Had  Jesus  Cln-ist  delivered  no  other  declaration 
than  the  following :  “  The  hour  is  coming,  in  the  which 
all  that  are  in  the  grave  shall  hear  his  voice,  and  shall 
come  forth ;  they  that  have  done  good  unto  the  resurrec¬ 
tion  of  life,  and  they  that  have  done  evil  unto  the  resur¬ 
rection  of  damnation,”  he  had  pronounced  a  message  of 
inestimable  importance,  and  well  worthy  of  that  splendid 
apparatus  of  prophecy  and  miracles  with  which  his  mis¬ 
sion  was  introduced  and  attested ;  a  message  in  which 
the  wisest  of  mankind  would  rejoice  to  find  an  answer  to 
their  doubts,  and  rest  to  their  inquiries. 

It  is  idle  to  say,  that  a  future 'state  had  been  discovered 
already.  He  alone  discovers,  who  proves  ;  and  no  man 
can  prove  this  point,  but  the  teacher  who  testifies  by 
miracles  that  his  doctrine  comes  from  God. 


TENDENCY  OF  THE  THIRD  PRECEPT. 


243 


III.  Beneficial  Ejfiects  among  Men  of  a  Universal  Observance 
of  the  Third  Commandment. 

550.  Universal  and  profound  reverence  of  the  name 
and  character  of  God,  would  lead  to  the  practice  of  all 
the  duties  of  piety  and  morality.  The  whole  earth  wovdd 
be  consecrated  as  one  grand  temple,  from  which  a  grate¬ 
ful  homage  would  ascend  from  the  hearts  and  the  lips  of 
millions  of  devout  worshipers  in  all  places  from  the 
rising  to  the  setting  sun. 

In  the  domestic  circle,  in  the  convivial  meeting,  in  the 
public  walks,  in  the  councils  of  nations,  and  in  every  other 
intercourse  of  human  beings,  the  name  of  God  would 
never  be  mentioned,  nor  his  character  alluded  to,  but  with 
feelings  of  profound  and  reverential  awe.  His  holy  word 
would  be  perused  by  all  classes  of  men,  with  affection 
and  delight,  as  the  oracle  which  proclaims  the  glories  of 
his  nature,  the  excellence  of  his  laws,  the  blessings  of  his 
salvation,  and  the  path  which  conducts  to  eternal  felicity 
in  the  life  to  come. 

Such  are  some  of  the  delightful  effects  which  would 
follow,  w'ere  a  sentiment  of  profound  reverence  to  per¬ 
vade,  as  it  should  do,  the  whole  mass  of  human  beings ; 
and  corresponding  sentiments  of  affection  for  each  other, 
would  be  the  necessary  accompaniment  of  respect  and 
veneration  for  their  common  Parent. 

[Professor  Dick’s  Lectures ;  Archbishop  Seeker’s  Works ;  Dick’s 
Philosophy  of  Religion ;  Paley’s  Moral  Philosophy  ;  Whewell’s  Elements 
of  Morality.] 


529.  What  are  we  to  understand  by  the  name  of  the  Lord  ? 

530.  What  is  meant  by  taking  it  in  vain? 

531.  What  are  oaths,  and  what  is  their  moral  character  ? 

532.  What  arguments  may  be  used  to  establish  the  lawfulness  of  oaths 
when  taken  in  a  proper  manner? 

533.  But  there  is  a  difficulty  to  dispose  of.  Does  not  our  Savior  say, 
Matt.  V.  34,  “  Swear  not  at  all and  does  not  the  apostle  James  reiterate 
the  same  prohibition  ? 

534.  When  may  an  oath  be  administered,  and  how  should  it  be  taken? 

535.  What  crime,  chiefly,  is  prohibited  in  this  precept  ? 

536.  Under  what  circumstances  would  we  make  ourselves  guilty  of  the 
crime  of  perjury? 

537.  What  gives  to  perjury  its  great  criminality? 

538.  In  what  methods,  secondly,  is  this  precept  violated  with  respect 
to  swearing? 

539.  What  crime,  in  the  third  place,  is  prohibited  in  this  precept  ? 

540.  What  considerations  show  the  folly  and  criminality  of  profane 
swearing  ? 

541.  What  illustrative  anecdote  may  here  be  related  ? 


244 


THE  FOURTH  COMMANDMENT. 


542.  In  view  of  such  kind  of  swearing,  what  does  our  Savior  direct  ? 

543.  What,  in  the  fourth  place,  may  be  named  as  a  crime  similar  to 
that  of  common  swearing  ? 

544.  What  other  practices  may,  in  the  fifth  place,  be  regarded  as  com- 
ing  within  the  spirit  of  the  prohibition  in  this  precept  ? 

545.  In  what  modes  have  many  of  the  adversaries  of  Christianity,  as 
such,  been  guilty  of  a  gross  violation  of  the  Third  Commandment? 

546.  In  what  opposite  and  profane  manner  have  hostilities  been  waged 
by  unbelievers  against  the  Christian  religion,  which  claims  to  be  the  prod¬ 
uct  of  divine  wisdom  and  benevolence  ? 

547.  But  if  the  matter  of  these  objections  be  reprehensible,  as  calcu¬ 
lated  to  produce  an  effect  upon  the  reader  beyond  what  their  real  weight 
and  place  in  the  argument  deserve,  what  is  there  also  of  management,  of 
disingenuousness,  and  profaneness,  in  the  form  under  which  they  are  dis¬ 
persed  among  the  public  ? 

548.  In  what  still  more  culpable  and  dishonorable  method  have  some 
of  the  enemies  of  Christianity  violated  the  Third  Commandment  ? 

549.  What  does  Dr.  Paley  say  to  that  class  of  reasoners  who  affect  to 
see  but  little  in  Christianity,  even  supposing  it  to  be  true? 

550.  What  are  some  of  the  beneficial  effects  which  would  result  from 
a  universal  observance  of  the  Third  Commandment  ? 


THE  FOURTH  COMMANDMENT. 

“  Rememhtr  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy.  Six  days  shalt  thou  labor,  and  do  all 
thy  work;  but  the  seventh  day  is  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God;  in  it  thou 
•shalt  not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter,  thy  man-servant,  nor 
thy  maid  servant,  nor  thy  cattle,  nor  the  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates  :  For 
in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth,  the.  sea,  and  all  that  in  them  is,  and 
rested  the  seventh  day :  wherefore  the  Lord  blessed  the  Sabbath  day  and  hal¬ 
lowed  it.” 


I.  Nature  and  Importance  of  this  Precept. 

551.  This  precept  obviously  enjoins  the  setting  apart 
of  one  clay  in  seven,  as  a  clay  of  rest  from  worldly  labor, 
and  as  a  portion  of  time  to  be  devoted  to  the  exercises 
of  religion,  and  particularly  to  the  public  worship  Oi 
God. 

552.  If  the  worship  of  God  were  left  at  large  to  he  per¬ 
formed  at  any  time,  too  many  would  be  tempted  to  defer 
and  postpone  it,  on  one  pretense  or  another,  till  at  length 
it  would  not  be  performed  at  all. 

F urther,  reason  shows  it  to  be  requisite,  and  the  expe¬ 
rience  of  all  ages  proves  it  to  be  natural,  that  as  ice  are 
social  creatures,  we  should  he  social  in  religion,  as  well  as 
in  other  things,  and  honor  in  common  our  common 
Maker. 

Since,  therefore,  on  these  accounts,  there  must  be  pub¬ 
lic  worship  and  instruction,  it  is  not  only  expedient,  but 
necessary  that  there  should  he,  also,  fixed  times  appointed 
for  it,  hy  sufficient  authority.  How  much,  and  what  time 
should  be  devoted  to  this  purpose,  every  society  must 


ORIGIN  OF  THE  SABBATICAL  INSTITUTION.  245 

have  determined  for  itself,  and.  would  have  found  it  hard 
enough  to  agree  in  such  a  determination,  if  God  had.  given 
no  intimation  of  his  will  in  the  case. 

II.  Origin  and  Date  of  the  Sabbatical  Institution. 

553.  We  are  informed  in  the  history  of  the  Creation, 
that  the  Maker  of  the  world,  having  finished  his  work  in 
six  days  (which  he  could  as  easily  have  finished,  in  one 
moment,  had  it  not  been  prolonged  for  some  valuable 
reason,  probably  for  our  instruction).  Messed  the  seventh 
day,  and  sanctified  it :  that  is,  appointed  every  return  of 
it  to  be  religiously  kept  as  a  solemn  memorial,  that  of 
Him,  and,  therefore,  to  Him  are  all  things  (Rom.  xi.  36). 
The  expression,  “  the  Lord  rested  on  the  seventh  day” 
from  his  work  of  Creation,  does  not  imply  fatigue,  for 
“  the  Creator  of  the  ends  of  the  world  fainteth  not,  neither 
is  weary;”  but  the  expression  means,  that  having  then 
finished  the  formation  of  the  world,  he  ceased  from  it, 
and  required  men  also  to  cease  from  their  labors  every 
seventh  day,  in  memory  of  that  fundamental  article  of  all 
religion,  that  the  heavens  and  earth  were  made,  and 
therefore  are  governed,  by  one  infinitely  wise,  powerful, 
and  good  Being.  And  thus  was  the  Sahbath,  which  woi'd 
means  the  day  of  rest,  a  sign,  as  the  Scripture  calls  it, 
between  God  and  the  children  ofi  Israel :  a  mark  to  distin¬ 
guish  them  from  all  worshipers  of  false  deities. 

554.  As  an  institution,  the  Sabbath  consists  ofi  two  parts 
— the  Sabbath,  or  holy  rest ;  and  the  time  or  day  set 
apart  for  it.  We  learn  from  Gen.  ii.  2,  3,  that  God  rested 
(sabbatized)  on  the  seventh  day ;  and  that  then  he  ^Sanc¬ 
tified,”  or  set  that  day  apart,  as  the  day  for  sabbatizing, 
“  because  that  in  it  He  had  rested”  (sabbatized).  Hence 
the  sabbatizing,  or  holy  resting,  is  one  part  of  the  institu¬ 
tion  ;  and  the  particular  day  set  apart  for  it,  is  another 
and  a  distinct  part.  So  that  although  for  sufficient  rea¬ 
sons  the  day  may  be,  and  has  been  changed,  as  we  shall 
show,  from  the  seventh  to  the  first  day  of  the  week,  the 
Sabbath,  as  a  season  of  sacred  abstinence  fi-om  worldly 
labor,  may  remain  in  all  its  original  authority. 

555.  (1.)  With  respect  to  the  date  of  the  institution  of  the 
Sabbath,  it  is  much  the  most  natural  to  apprehend,  that 
this  took  place  at  the  time  it  is  first  mentioned ;  and  when 
the  reason  or  occasion  of  it  first  took  place. 


246  DATE  OF  THE  SABBATICAL  INSTITUTION. 

It  is  no  wonder  at  all,  and  no  good  objection  to  this 
view  of  the  subject,  that  in  so  short  a  history,  notice  should 
not  be  taken  of  the  actual  observation  of  it  before  the 
time  of  Moses  ;  for  notice  is  not  taken  of  it  dui  ing  five 
hundred  years  after  Moses.  Yet  we  know,  of  a  certainty, 
that  in  his  time,  at  least,  it  was  ordered  to  be  observed, 
both  in  this  Fourth  Commandment,  and  in  other  parts  of 
the  law,  which  direct  more  particularly  the  manner  of 
keeping  it. 

(2.)  In  confirmation  of  the  idea  that  the  Sabbath  was 
appointed  first,  not  in  the  time  of  Moses,  but  when  the 
human  family  began,  it  may  be  observed  that  the  Sab¬ 
bath  is  spoken  of  in  Exodus  before  the  publication  of  the 
Decalogue,  and  is  then  mentioned,  not  as  a  new  institu¬ 
tion,  but  as  one  ah’eady  known  :  “  To-morrow  is  the  rest 
of  the  holy  Sabbath  unto  the  Lord”  (Exod.  xvi.  28). 
Some  indeed  draw  an  opposite  conclusion,  and  consider 
these  words  as  the  first  intimation  of  the  Sabbath ;  but 
they  are  obviously  mistaken,  because  IMoses  appears  only 
to  remind  them  of  it,  as  the  reason  of  the  injunction  he 
had  delivered  to  gather  a  double  quantity  of  manna  on  the 
day  preceding  the  Sabbath,  since  none  would  fall  on 
that  day.  If  the  Sabbath  had  been  a  new  institution  he 
would  naturally  have  forewarned  them  of  its  duties, 
whereas  he  confines  himself  to  the  simple  subject  of  the 
manna,  forewarning  them  not  to  expect  it  on  that  day, 
and  therefore  to  collect  and  prepare,  on  the  day  before, 
as  much  as  would  suffice  till  the  Sabbath  was  past. 

(3.)  It  seems  also  to  have  been  justly  thought  that  the 
word  with  which  the  fourth  precept  begins  supposes  a 
prior  knowledge  of  the  law :  “  Rcmemher  the  Sabbath 
day,  to  keep  it  Jiohj.”  It  was  an  institution  with  which 
they  were  already  acquainted ;  and  they  were  called 
upon  to  keep  in  mind  the  sacred  nature  of  the  day,  and 
to  sanctify  it  with  the  greatest  care,  especially  after  this 
repuhlication  of  the  precept.  It  is  probable  that  it  had 
been  much  neglected  in  Egypt ;  and  as  the  Israelites 
were  there  in  a  state  of  slavery,  it  is  not  likely  that  they 
had  been  permitted  by  their  cruel  taskmasters  to  rest 
one  day  in  seven.  Through  the  necessity  of  their  cir¬ 
cumstances,  and  their  own  indifference,  the  observance 
of  it  might  have  been  in  a  great  measure  suspended,  and 
this  may  be  the  reason  why  it  was  inculcated  anew,  and 


OBLIGATION  OF  THE  SABBATH. 


247 


their  attention  was  so  particularly  called  to  it :  “  Re¬ 
member  the  Sabbath  day,  to  keep  it  holy.” 

(4.)  It  has  been  justly  observed  that  the  division  of 
time  into  weeks,  which  existed  in  the  age  of  the  patri¬ 
archs,  cannot  be  satisfactorily  accounted  for,  but  by  ad¬ 
mitting  the  previous  institution  of  the  Sabbath ;  for  the 
Creation  was  finished  in  six  days,  and  if  the  seventh  was 
not  then  sanctified,  we  cannot  conceive  how  the  ancients, 
the  Greeks  as  well  as  Hebrews,  came  then  to  divide 
time  by  seven  days,  rather  than  by  six,  or  eight,  or  ten. 

Ill — Universal  Obligation  of  the  Law  of  the  Sabbath. 

556.  We  shall  now  undertake  to  show  that  the  Deity 
appointed  the  Sabbath  to  be  observed  by  all  men,  and  not 
by  the  Jews  only. 

(1.)  We  have  seen  that  it  was  instituted  long  before 
the  Jews  existed  as  a  people,  and  of  course  could  not  be 
designed  for  them  exclusively,  but  for  other  nations  as 
well  as  for  them. 

(2.)  If  the  Sabbath  was  good  and  needful  for  the  Jews, 
it  is  equally  good  and  needful  for  all  other  nations.  It 
has  been  conclusively  shown  by  writer’s  on  the  Sabbath 
that  there  is  a  perpetual  demand  for  the  Sabbath,  in  the 
physical  and  moral  nature,  relations,  and  necessities  of 
ma?i,  and  therefore  it  was  needed  at  the  commencement 
of  the  race,  and  subsequently,  and  will  be  equally  needed 
while  the  world  stands,  or  while  man  occupies  a  place 
in  it. 

(3.)  Tbe  grand  and  primary  reason  assigned  for  re¬ 
quiring  its  observance,  applies  to  all  mankind  no  less 
than  to  the  Jews  :  that  reason  was,  that  the  work  of  Crea¬ 
tion  might  be  commemorated,  and  that  worldly  labors 
should,  for  religious  purposes,  be  suspended. 

(4.)  The  institution  of  marriage  is  coeval  wuth  that  of 
the  Sabbath,  and  if  the  one  is  only  a  Jewish  institution, 
so  is  the  other.  But  they  are  both  equally  intended  for 
all  nations,  and  they  are  beneficial  to  all ;  and  hence  their 
obligation  rests  equally  upon  all  mankind. 

(5.)  The  law  of  the  Sabbath  is  included  among  the  ten 
moral  precepts,  and  was  engraved  twice  by  God  himself 
on  tables  of  stone,  whereas  the  laws  that  are  regarded 
as  peculiar  to  the  Jewish  economy  were  merely  recited 
to  Moses,  and  by  him  committed  to  writing.  The  other 


248 


OBJECTIONS  CONSIDERED. 


nine  precepts  are  indisputably  binding  on  all  men  :  the 
inference  is  fair  that  this  precept  is  also  binding. 

(6.)  The  universal  and  perpetual  obligation  of  the  Sab¬ 
bath  seems  to  be  incontestably  shown  in  a  single  remark 
uttered  by  our  Savior,  “The  Sahhath  was  rnade  for  man  T 
He  does  not  say,  it  was  made  for  the  Jews,  but  for  man. 
So  long  then,  and  wherever  man  exists,  there  it  is  his 
right,  and  privilege,  and  duty,  to  observe  the  Sabbath, 
provided  that  such  an  institution  has  been  made  known 
to  him. 


IV. — Objections  to  this  Vietv  of  the  subject. 

557.  (1.)  It  is  said  that  the  fourth  precept  is 
rather  than  a  moral  precept ;  while  the  other  precepts 
are  strictly  moral,  that  is,  foimded  upon  the  relations  of 
mankind  to  God  and  to  each  other,  and  therefore  per- 

Answer.  So  far  as  this  law  requires  us  to  abstain 
from  labor  that  we  may  worship  God  and  meditate  on 
his  works,  it  is  a  strictly  moral  duty,  growing  out  of  our 
relations  to  God  ;  and  though  the  proportion  of  time,  and 
the  particular  day  of  the  week,  required  to  be  thus  occu¬ 
pied,  could  not  be  learned  by  studying  our  relations  to 
God,  and  are  therefore  purely  matters  of  divine  appoint¬ 
ment  ;  yet,  since  it  was  necessary,  as  we  have  shoAvn, 
that  the  proportion  and  the  day  should  be  designated, 
and  God  has  seen  fit  to  make  such  a  designation,  the 
law  has  the  same  binding  force  as  the  other  laws  of  the 
Decalogue. 

As  to  the  day,  the  law  states  that  after  every  six  days 
of  labor,  the  seventh  shall  be  sacred.  Under  the  Jewish 
dispensation,  and  perhaps  from  the  earliest  period  of  the 
world,  Saturday  was  the  Sabbath  ;  but  there  is  evidence 
that  under  the  Christian  dispensation,  the  next  day  was, 
by  divine  permission,  set  apart  as  the  Sabbath;  and  upon 
this  aiTangement,  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  law  are  as 
fully  complied  with,  as  under  the  previous  arrangement; 
for  there  is  still  the  consecration  of  the  seventh  day,  after 
six  days  of  labor. 

559.  (2.)  The  favorite  proof-texts  of  the  opponents  of 
the  Sabbath  are.  Col.  ii.  16,  17,  “  Let  no  man,  therefore, 
judge  you  in  meat,  or  in  drink,  or  in  respect  of  a  holy 
day,  or  of  the  now  moon,  or  of  the  Sabbath  days  ;  which 


petual. 

558. 


OBJECTIONS  OF  ANTI-SABBATAEIANS. 


249 


are  a  shadow  of  things  to  come,  but  the  body  is  of  Christ 
and  Rom.  xiv.  5,  “One  man  esteemeth  one  day  above 
another;  another  esteemeth  every  day  alike.  Let  every 
man  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind.” 

560.  These  passages  are  quoted  (says  Mr.  Phelps  in 
his  “  Argument  for  the  Sabbath”)  as  if  they  had  refer¬ 
ence  primarily  and  especially  to  the  question  of  the  Sab¬ 
bath  as  noio  agitated  (1841).  It  is  assumed  that  the 
meaning  of  the  apostle  is  this  : — “  Let  no  man  judge  or 
censure  you  in  regard  to  the  observance  of  the  old  Jewish 
or  seventh  day  Sabbath,  or  any  of  the  other  Jewish  feasts 
or  ceremonials ;  for  they  are  all  only  a  shadow  which  is 
fulfilled  in  Christ,  and  are  therefore  now  no  longer  obli¬ 
gatory.  And,  in  respect  to  the  observance  of  the  first, 
or  indeed,  of  any  particular  day,  as  Sabbath,  one  man 
esteemeth  one  day,  as,  for  instance,  the  first,  above  another; 
another  esteemeth  every  day  alike.  Let  every  man  be 
fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind,  and  observe  one  day,  or 
another,  or  none,  as  he  chooses.” 

561.  Such  is  the  assumed  meaning  of  these  passages; 
for  no  argument  is  ever  employed  to  prove  it.  But  such 
is  not  their  real  meaning.  So  far  from  it,  they  either 
have  no  reference  to  the  seventh  or  the  first-day  Sabbath, 
but  only  to  the  other  Jewish  festivals  or  Sabbaths  ;  or 
they  declare,  simply,  that  the  seventh-day  Sabbath  is  no 
longer  obligatory,  and  they  do  it  in  circumstances  which 
make  it  a  virtual  declaration  that  the  Lord’s  day,  or  first- 
day  Sabbath,  is  obligatory. 

Beside  the  ample  proof  of  these  assertions  furnished  in 
the  conclusive  argument  of  Mr.  Phelps,  it  may  be  ob- 
seiwed  that  the  various  things  connected  with  the  Sabbaths 
spoken  of  in  these  passages  wei-e  of  a  ceremonial  nature 
and  connected  strictly  with  the  Jewish  economy  ;  whence 
it  is  fair  to  infer  that  the  Sabbaths  were  only  those  that 
were  confined  to  that  economy,  and  not  the  weekly  Sab¬ 
bath  enjoined  in  the  Fourth  Commandment, and  obligatory 
on  men  from  the  beginning. 

In  proof  of  this  interpretation,  it  may  further  be  ob¬ 
served  that  the  Sabbaths,  in  common  with  the  other  things 
here  spoken  of,  are  represented  as  the  shadow  of  things 
to  come,  at  the  advent  of  Christ,  and  to  be  fulfilled  in  him. 
But  the  weekly  Sabbath  mentioned  in  the  Fourth  Com¬ 
mandment  was  not  a  shadow  of  things  to  come,  but  of 


250 


OBJECTIONS  OP  ANTI-SABBATAKIANS. 


things  past,  namely,  the  works  of  Creation,  from  which,  on 
the  seventh  day  of  the  world,  the  Almighty  rested. 

562,  (3.)  To  prove  that  the  Sabbath  is  an  institution 
appointed  for  the  Jews  merely,  we  are  referred  to  such 
passages  as  this  (Ezek.  xx.  12)  :  “  Moreover  also  I  gave 
them  my  Sabbaths,  to  he  a  sign  hctwcen  me  and  them, 
that  they  might  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  that  sanctify 
them.” 

563.  Respecting  this  passage  it  may  be  observed,  that 
his  giving  them  the  Sabbath  no  more  implies  that  it  was 
a  new  and  a  merely  national  institution,  than  his  giving 
them  the  other  precepts  supposes  that  they  were  not 
previously  binding  upon  all  men, — nothing  more  being 
meant  in  both  cases  than  that  they  were  published  anew 
to  them  with  peculiar  circumstances  of  solemnity. 

The  Sabbath  may  be  said  to  be  a  sign,  because  the 
celebration  of  it  would  henceforth  serve,  with  their  other 
religious  rites,  to  distinguish  them  from  the  other  nations 
of  the  world,  and  it  was  enforced  hy  a  new  reason,  taken 
from  their  recent  redemption.  “  And  remember  that 
thou  wast  a  servant  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  that  the 
Lord  thy  God  brought  thee  out  thence,  through  a  mighty 
hand,  and  by  a  stretched  out  arm ;  therefore  the  Lord 
thy  God  commanded  thee  to  keep  the  Sabbath  day.”  If, 
indeed,  the  reason  here  assigned,  and  the  immediate  con¬ 
nection  in  which  it  stands,  be  compared  with  the  reason 
offered  in  the  parallel  passage  in  Exod.  xx.,  it  will  be 
apparent,  that  it  is  not  assigned  for  the  observance  of 
a  Sabbath  as  a  divine  institution,  but  for  the  extendinir 

»  ’  O 

of  the  privileges  of  the  Sabbath  to  servants.  In  other 
words,  the  passage  in  Exodus  quotes  the  I'eason  for  the 
obsei'vance  of  the  entire  j^receiH :  the  passage  in  Deuter¬ 
onomy  (juotes  the  reason  for  the  observance  of  di, partietdar 
part  of  the  precept, — that  which  declares  that  seiwants 
shall  enjoy  the  benefit  of  rest  from  labor  on  every  seventh 
day.  The  benevolent  conduct  of  Jehovah  in  redeeming 
the  nation  from  the  labors  of  a  hard  servitude,  is  employed 
as  an  argument  for  releasing  (according  to  the  law)  their 
own  servants  from  the  labors  customary  on  the  six  days 
of  the  week. 

There  is  nothing,  therefore,  in  this  language,  that  re¬ 
duces  the  fourth  precept  to  the  condition  of  a  mere 
Jewish,  ceremonial,  temporary  enactment.  It  must  be 


CHANGE  OF  THE  SABBATICAL  DAY. 


251 


regarded  as  universal  and  permanent  in  the  obligation  of 
its  observance. 

V.  Change  of  the  Sabbath  from  the  Seventh  to  the  First  Day 

of  the  Week. 

564.  Upon  this  article  we  differ,  with  regret,  from  a 
respectable  denomination  of  Christians,  who  devote  the 
seventh  day  of  the  week  to  public  worship.  The  con¬ 
cession  must  be  made,  that,  in  arguing  for  the  change  of 
the  Sabbath  from  Saturday  to  Sunday,  from  the  seventh 
to  the  first  day,  we  are  able  to  produce  no  positive  pre¬ 
cept  ;  but  we  consider  the  examyile  of  the  apostles,  and  of 
the  primitive  Church  under  their  direction,  as  of  equal 
authoi'ity  with  a  positive  precept ;  because  they  were  in¬ 
fallibly  guided  by  the  Spirit  in  all  things  relative  to  doc¬ 
trine  and  worship. 

565.  There  are  certain  facts  related  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment,  which  seem  to  us  to  show  that  the  apostles  and 
early  Christians  celebi’ated  the  first  day  of  the  week  as 
the  Sabbath. 

(1.)  Immediately  after  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  the 
disciples  began  to  assemble  on  the  first  day  of  the  week; 
and,  by  meeting  repeatedly  with  them  on  that  day,  he 
gave  countenance  to  the  practice. 

(2.)  It  was  continued  after  his  ascension,  and  after  the 
descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  lead  them  into  all  truth. 
Thus,  at  Troas,  “  when  the  disciples  came  together  on 
the  first  day,  to  break  bread,  Paul  preached  to  them;” 
Acts  XX.  7  :  and  the  time  of  meeting  is  manifestly  spoken 
of  as  the  usual  one. 

(3.)  On  that  day  the  Corinthians  were  commanded  to 
“  lay  by  them  in  store,  as  the  Lord  had  prospered  them,” 
1  Cor.  xvi.  2  ;  and  it  is  reasonable  to  think  that  the  first 
day  was  specified  as  the  proper  time  to  make  collections 
for  the  poor,  because  it  was  consecrated  to  religious 
duties. 

(^4.)  It  is  undoubtedly  the  same  day  to  which  the  be¬ 
loved  disciple  refers  when  he  says.  Rev.  i.  10,  “  I  was  in 
the  Spirit  on  the  Lord’s  day;”  the  day  which  Jesus 
Christ  peculiarly  claimed  as  his  own ;  or  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  which  is  consecrated  to  his  honor.  Eccle¬ 
siastical  history  shows  that  this  day  was  intended. 


CHANGE  OF  THE  SABBATICAL  DAY. 


tj 


(5.)  ^  the  finishing  of  the  loorhs  ofi  Creation  was  a 
reason  why  the  Lord  blessed  the  seventh  day  and  hallowed 
it,  there  is  a  reason  at  least  equally  strong  for  the  consecra¬ 
tion  of  the  first  day,  on  xchich  our  Savior  rose  firoyn  the 
dead. 

Then,  the  work  of  redemption  was  finished  ;  and,  on 
account  of  its  greatness  and  glory,  and  the  unspeakable 
benefits  which  it  has  procured  to  mankind,  it  is  worthy 
to  be  held  in  perpetual  remembrance.  The  first  day  of 
the  yveeh  is  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  the  Resurrection,  by 
which  God  publicly  testified  that  his  incarnate  Son  “  had 
finished  transgression,  and  made  an  end  of  sin,  and 
brought  in  an  everlasting  righteousness.”  And  as  there 
will  be  no  new  work  of  the  Almighty  on  earth,  of  supe- 
l  ior  or  equal  importance,  the  day  will  not  be  again  alter¬ 
ed,  but  kept  sacred  to  the  end  of  the  world. 

(G.J  Chrisds  example,  as  Lord  of  the  Sabbath,  is  proof 
that  it  was  no  part  of  his  design  to  abolish  the  Sabbath, 
but  to  restore  it  to  its  original  and  true  intent,  and  to 
change  the  day  of  its  observance,  so  as  to  make  it  com¬ 
memorative  of  his  work  of  redemption.  Previous  to  his 
death,  Christ  was  in  the  regular  and  habitual  observance 
of  the  seventh,  as  Sabbatli  day.  Afterward,  when,  by 
his  death  and  resurrection,  the  old  dispensation  was  fully 
at  an  end,  and  the  new  one  fully  introduced,  we  never 
find  him  in  the  synagogue,  or  meeting  with  his  disciples 
for  religious  purposes  on  that  day.  But  he  did  meet 
with  them  for  such  purposes  on  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
and  in  other  ways  he  specially  honored  that  day.  He 
rose  from  the  dead  on  that  day. 

[See  Phelps  on  the  Sabbath,  pp.  118-123.] 

.  VI.  How  and  when  the  Sabbath  is  to  be  Observed. 

To  prayer ;  for  the  day  that  God  has  blest 
Comes  tranquilly  on  with  its  welcome  rest. 

It  speaks  of  Creation’s  early  bloom  ; 

It  speaks  of  the  Prince  who  burst  the  tomb. 

Then  summon  the  spirit’s  exalted  powers, 

And  devote  to  Heaven  the  hallowed  hours.  Ware. 

566.  The  Fourth  Commandment  taught  the  Jews,  and 
all  other  men,  to  abstain  from  ordinary  worldly  labor  on 
that  day;  but  several  additional  precepts  were  enjoined 
that  were  bineling  peculiarly  upon  the  Jews  as  a  nation. 
They  were  not  to  go  out  of  their  houses,  or  to  take 


now  TO  OBSERVE  THE  SABBATH. 


253 


journeys,  except  to  a  place  of  worship  ;  and  the  distance 
to  which,  according  to  the  Rabbis,  they  might  lawfully 
go,  was  two  thousand  cubits,  or  about  two  thirds  of  au 
English  mile,  which  is  called,  in  the  New  Testament,  a 
Sabbath  day’s  journey.  They  were  not  to  kindle  a  fire 
in  their  dwellings,  that  is,  probably,  for  the  purpose  oi 
preparing  food.  They  once  deemed  it  unlawful  to  de¬ 
fend  themselves  on  the  Sabbath ;  but  experience  made 
them  change  their  opinion,  although  they  continued  to 
think  it  a  sin  to  attack  their  enemies  on  that  day. 

567.  A  sober  and  candid  comparison  of  the  general 
character  and  spirit  of  the  Jewish  and  Christian  dispen¬ 
sations,  would  lead  us  to  conclude  that  it  is  not  our  duty 
to  be  so  strict  as  the  Jews  were  required  to  be  :  yet  the 
danger  is,  that  we  shall  be  less  strict  than  the  great  ob¬ 
jects  of  the  Sabbath  and  the  great  interests  of  a  future 
life  demand. 

So  far  as  we  can  learn,  from  the  conduct  or  the  in¬ 
structions  of  our  Savior  and  his  apostles,  no  work  con¬ 
nected  with  worldly  callings  is  allowable  on  the  Sabbath, 
that  may  be  deferred  to  another  day ;  and  no  works  but 
those  of  necessary  benevolence — those  necessary  for  the 
relief  of  sufferino:  men  and  of  suffering  animals — those 
which  we  had  no  opportunity  of  doing  before  the  Sab¬ 
bath,  and  cannot,  consistent  with  mercy  or  benevolence, 
postpone  till  the  Sabbath  is  over. 

668.  The  great  purposes  of  the  Sahbatli  seem  to  ho 
twofold :  that  it  should  be  a  season  for  rendering  due 
honor  to  God,  as  the  Creator,  Moral  Governor,  and  Re¬ 
deemer  of  the  world ;  and  that  the  best  temporal  and  spirit 
ual  interests  of  mankind  might  be  promoted  on  that  day. 

The  first  of  these  may  be  inferred  from  the  fact  that  it 
was  instituted  immediately  on  completing  the  earth  foi 
the  residence  of  man,  and  was  appointed  as  a  memorial 
of  God’s  creative  operations  ;  under  the  New  Testament 
dispensation,  it  became  also  a  memorial  of  the  acts  by 
which  was  completed  the  glorious  work  of  man’s  redem]i- 
tion ;  thus  evidently  being  designed  to  lead  men  to  a  consid¬ 
eration  and  praise  of  the  attributes  of  Jehovah  as  displayed 
in  the  works  of  Creation,  of  Providence,  and  Redemption. 

The  second  of  these  designs,  is  inferred  from  the 
declaration  of  Chi’ist,  as  Lord  of  the  Sahbatli,  that  “  the 
Sabbath  was  made  for  man,  and  not  man  for  the  Sab- 


254 


HOW  THE  SABBATH  13  VIOLATED. 


bath,”  and  the  connection  in  which  this  was  uttered,  shows 
that  the  Sabbath  was  not  to  be  observed  with  such  strict¬ 
ness  as  to  preclude  those  acts  of  labor  which  the  good  of 
men  and  lower  animals  imperiously  required.  Yet  this 
language  seems  to  imply  that  labor  for  other  ordinary 
purposes  remained  equally  under  prohibition  as  it  was 
by  the  law  of  Moses. 

569.  All  buying  and  selling,  settling  accounts,  and  pay¬ 
ing  off  wages,  posting  books,  or  writing  letters  of  business, 
amusement,  or  friendship,  visiting  post-offices,  and  taking 
out  letters  and  papers,  all  reading  of  other  than  religious 
books,  or  papers,  or  pamphlets,  all  unnecessary  conversa¬ 
tion  or  thoughts  about  ivorldly  affairs,  all  kinds  of  worldly 
business,  such  as  gathei'ing  harvests,  cutting  wood,  load¬ 
ing  or  unloading  of  merchandise  from  vessels  or  other 
vehicles,  all  making  up,  assorting,  distributing,  or  carry¬ 
ing  of  mails,  all  trifling  visits,  unnecessary  journeys,  all 
excursions  and  amusements — even  though  lawful  on  other 
days — all  acts,  in  short,  which  are  inconsistent  with  those 
duties  of  public  and  private  worship,  and  spiritual  im¬ 
provement  and  usefulness,  which  ai’e  involved  in  keeping 
the  day  sacred  to  the  Lord,  violate  his  law. 

570.  This  one  sin  of  Sabbatii-breaking  has  been 

THE  MOTHER  OF  THOUSANDS  AND  THOUSANDS  OF  CRIMES. 

Half  the  criminals  whose  lives  pay  the  forfeit  of  their 
offenses,  whether  in  Great  Britain,  or  in  this  country, 
half  the  criminals  who  end  their  days  on  the  gallows, 
begin  their  career  of  wickedness  xcith  breaking  the  Sabbath. 
By  keeping  away  fi’om  chui’ch,  they  deprive  themselves 
of  all  instruction ;  they  gradually  lose  all  knowledge  and 
fear  of  God ;  they  do  not  learn  to  pray  for  his  help,  and 
so  they  are  left  without  help  ;  temptation  comes  upon 
temptation ;  they  fall  from  one  wickedness  to  another ; 
until  at  length,  even  in  this  world,  justice  overtakes  them, 
and  gives  them  over  to  a  shameful  death. 

Parliamentary  Testimony  in  favor  of  the  Sabbath. 

571.  In  1838,  when  the  claims  of  the  Sabbath  were 
Investigated  by  the  British  parliament,  a  committee  of 
that  body  received  the  following  testimony  from  the  Rev. 
David  Ruel,  who  had  been  chaplain  of  prisons  in  London 
for  twenty-eight  years,  and  had  under  his  spiritual  care 
not  less,  probably,  than  one  hundred  thousand  prisoners, 


NECESSITY  FOR  THE  SABBATH. 


255 


concerning  whom  he  testifies  as  follows  : — “  I  do  not 
recollect  a  single  case  of  capital  offense  where  the  paity 
has  not  been  a  Sabbath-breaker ;  and,  in  many  cases, 
they  have  assured  me  that  Sabbath-breaking  was  the  first 
step  in  the  course  of  crime.  Indeed,  I  may  say,  in  refer¬ 
ence  to  prisoners  of  all  classes,  that  in  nineteen  cases  out 
of  twenty,  they  are  persons  who  not  only  neglected  the 
Sabbath,  but  all  the  other  ordinances  of  religion.” 

This,  and  similar  testimony,  that  might  be  derived 
from  other  chaplains,  or  keepers  of  prisons,  goes  to  show 
the  necessity  for  a  Sabbath  and  for  its  religious  observ¬ 
ance  ;  and  also  serves  to  confirm  the  arguments  adduced 
for  its  primitive,  and  perpetual,  and  universal  obligation. 

Wisdom  and  Benevolence  shown  in  the  Appointment  of  the 

Sabbath. 

572.  When  we  consider  the  tyrannical  dispositions 
which  prevail  among  mankind,  the  powerful  influence  of 
avarice  over  the  human  mind,  and  the  almost  total  ab¬ 
sence  of  compassion  toward  suffering  humanity,  wherever 
such  dispositions  predominate,  we  cannot  but  admire  the 
wisdom  and  the  benevolence  of  the  Creator  in  appointing 
a  weekly  jubilee  for  the  rest  and  refreshment  of  laborers 
spent  with  toil. 

On  this  day,  the  master  has  an  opportunity  of  divesting 
his  mind  of  worldly  cares  and  anxieties  ;  the  servant  of 
obtaining  a  respite  from  his  toilsome  employments ;  and 
laborers  of  every  class,  of  enjoying  repose  in  the  bosom 
of  their  families. 

“  Hail,  Sabbath !  thee  I  hail,  the  poor  man’s  day !” 

Some  are  apt  to  regard  the  Sabbath  as  an  obstruction 
to  their  worldly  interests  ;  they  calculate  how  much  labor 
has  been  lost  by  the  rest  of  one  day  in  seven,  and  how 
much  wealth  might  have  been  gained  had  the  Sabbath 
not  intervened  to  interrupt  their  employments.  But 
such  calculations  rest  upon  a  short-sighted  policy. 

Experience  shows  that  on  the  six  days  out  of  seven 
appointed  for  labor,  all  the  operations  requisite  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  fields,  and  for  the  manufacture  of  every 
useful  article  for  the  comfort  of  mankind,  can  be  per¬ 
formed  with  ease,  and  without  the  least  injury  to  any 
class  of  men.  And  what  more  could  be  accomplished, 
although  the  Sabbath  were  converted  into  a  day  of  labor! 


256 


MEDICAL  TESTIMONY. 


Were  this  violation  of  the  divine  command  to  become 
universal,  it  might  be  shown  that  instead  of  producing  an 
increase  of  wealth,  it  would  infallibly  produce  an  increase 
of  toil  and  misery  in  relation  to  the  great  mass  of  man¬ 
kind,  without  any  corresponding  pecuniary  compensation  : 
after  a  short  time  the  wages  of  seven  days  would  be  re¬ 
duced  to  what  is  now  given  for  the  labor  of  six. 

573.  As  the  Sabbath  was  appointed  for  the  rest  of  man, 
Bcf  it  was  also  mercifully  appointed  as  a  season  of  re2')ose 
for  the  inferior  animals,  which  labor  for  our  profit.  “  In 
it  thou  shalt  not  do  any  work  ....  nor  thy  cattle.” 

This  injunction  exhibits  the  compassionate  care  and 
tenderness  of  the  Creator  in  a  very  amiable  and  impres¬ 
sive  point  of  view.  It  shows  us  that  the  enjoyments  of 
the  lower  ranks  of  sensitive  existence  are  not  beneath  his 
notice  and  regard.  He  knew  what  degree  of  relaxation 
was  needed  by  the  laboring  animals,  and  foresaw  that  the 
avarice  and  cruelty  of  man  would  endeavor  to  deprive 
them  of  it.  He  therefore  seciired  to  them,  by  a  law 
which  is  to  continue  in  force  so  long  as  the  earth  endures, 
the  rest  of  one  day  in  seven,  in  common  with  their  pro¬ 
prietors  and  superiors.  [See  Article  578.] 

Medical  Testimony  in  favor  of  the  Sahhaih. 

574.  It  is  sufficient  to  adduce  that  only  of  the  celebrated 
and  very  learned  Dr.  Parre,  who,  after  a  laborious  practice 
of  forty  years  in  London,  gave  the  following  testimony  in 
1838,  before  a  committee  of  the  British  j^arliament : — 

“  The  use  of  the  Sabbath,  medically  speaking,  is  that 
of  a  day  of  rest.  It  is  a  day  of  compensation  for  the  in¬ 
adequate  restorative  j^ower  of  the  body  under  continual 
labor  and  excitement.  A  physician  always  has  res^aect 
to  the  restorative  jDOwer,  because,  if  once  this  be  lost,  his 
healing  office  is  at  an  end.  The  ordinary  exertions  of  man 
run  down  the  circulation  every  day  of  his  life ;  and  the 
first  general  law  of  his  nature,  by  which  Hod  prevents 
man  from  destroying  himself,  is  the  alternating  of  day 
with  night,  that  rejtose  may  succeed  action.  But  though 
night  ap|tarently  equalizes  the  circulation  well,  yet  it  does 
not  sufficiently  restore  its  balance  for  tlie  attainment  of  a 
long  life.  Hence  one  day  in  seven,  by  the  bounty  of 
Providence,  is  thrown  in  as  a  day  of  comjiensation,  to  per¬ 
fect,  by  its  repose,  the  animal  system. 


LEGAL  TESTIMONY. 


257 


“  The  sabbatical  institution  is  not  simply  a  precept 
partaking  of  the  nature  of  a  political  institution  ;  but  it  is 
to  be  numbered  among  the  natural  duties,  if  the  preser¬ 
vation  of  life  be  admitted  to  be  a  duty,  and  the  premature 
destruction  of  it  a  suicidal  act.  I  have  found  it  essential 
to  my  own  well-being,  as  a  medical  man,  to  abridge  my 
labors  on  the  Sabbath  to  what  is  actually  necessary.  I 
have  frequently  observed  the  premature  death  of  physi¬ 
cians  from  continued  exertion.  I  have  advised  the  cler¬ 
gyman,  in  lieu  of  his  Sabbath,  to  rest  one  day  in  the  week. 
I  have  seen  many  destroyed  by  their  duties  on  that  day. 
I  would  say  further,  that  quitting  the  grosser  evils  of  mere 
animal  living  from  over-stimulation,  and  undue  exercise 
of  body,  the  working  of  the  mind,  in  one  continual  train  of 
thought,  is  the  destruction  of  life  in  the  most  distinguished 
classes  of  society,  and  that  senators  themselves  need  re¬ 
form  in  that  respect.  I  have  seen  many  of  them  destroyed 
by  neglecting  tliis  economy  of  life.” 

Testimony  of  Lord  Chief  Justiee  Hale. 

575.  His  remarks  are  as  follows  : — “  Be  sure  to  spend 
the  Lord’s  day  entirely  in  those  religious  duties  proper 
for  it ;  and  let  nothing  but  an  inevitable  necessity  divert 
you  from  it.  For,  (1.)  it  is  the  best  and  most  profitably 
spent  time ;  it  is  in  order  to  the  great  end  of  your  being 
in  the  world.  (2.)  It  is  in  order  to  your  everlasting  hap¬ 
piness  ;  in  comparison  of  which,  all  other  kinds  of  busi¬ 
ness  are  idle  and  vain;  it  is  that  which  will  give  you  the 
greatest  comfort  in  your  life,  in  your  sickness,  in  your 
death,  and  he  is  a  fool  that  provides  not  for  that  which  will 
most  certainly  come.  (3.)  It  is  the  most  reasonable  trib¬ 
ute  imaginable  unto  that  God,  that  lends  you  your  time, 
and  you  are  bound  to  pay  it  under  all  the  obligations  of 
duty  and  gratitude  :  and,  (4.)  it  is  that  which  will  sanctify 
and  prosper  all  the  rest  of  your  time  and  your  secular 
employments  :  I  am  not  apt  to  he  superstitious,  hut  this  I 
have  certainly  and  infallihly  found  true,  that  hy  my  deport¬ 
ment  in  my  duty  toivard  God  in  the  times  devoted  to  his  ser¬ 
vice,  especially  on  the  Lord's  day,  I  could  make  -a  certain 
conjecture  of  my  success  in  my  secular  employments  the  rest 
of  the  week  after:  if  I  were  loose  and  negligent  in  the 
former,  the  latter  never  succeeded  well ;  if  strict,  and  con¬ 
scientious,  and  watclful  in  the  former,  I  was  successful  and 


258 


TESTIMONY  OF  FROVIDENCE. 


'prospei'ous  in  the  latter.  And  this  I  do  not  say  slightly, 
or  inconsiderately ;  but  upon  a  long  and  sound  observa¬ 
tion  and  experience.” 

Testimony  of  God’s  Providence  in  favor  of  the  Sahlath. 

576.  He  has  borne  such  testimony  in  his  word,  and  in 
his  pi’ovidence,  that  is,  by  his  acts.  “  Then  I  contended 
with  the  nobles  of  Judah  and  said  unto  them.  What  evil 
thing  is  this  which  ye  do,  and  profane  the  Sabbath  day  1 
Did  not  your  fathers  thus  ;  and  did  not  God  bring  all  this 
evil  upon  us  and  upon  this  city  V’  “  Yet  ye  bring  more 
wrath  upon  Israel  by  profaning  the  Sabbath.”  Neh.  xiii ; 
Jer.  xiii;  Lev.  xxxvi. 

Conceming  this  matter  Dr.  Humphrey  has  .well  re¬ 
marked  : — “  This  crying  national  sin  (with  the  single  ex¬ 
ception  of  idolatry)  contributed  more  than  any  other,  to 
bring  wrath  upon  Israel,  and  to  sweep  them  into  captivity. 
Now  the  only  question  is,  whether  God  regards  Sabbath¬ 
breaking  with  equal  displeasure  in  other  nations.  And 
why  should  he  not  1  He  is  the  same  holy  Being  that  he 
was  three  thousand  years  ago.  The  nature  of  sin  is  the 
same.  The  moral  law,  including  the  Fourth  Command¬ 
ment,  is  the  same.  Human  obligation  is  the  same.  Na¬ 
tions  are  regarded  and  treated  as  moral  persons  now,  just 
as  the  Jews  were  under  their  judges  and  kings;  and  na¬ 
tional  sins  have  the  same  tendency  to  sear  the  public  con¬ 
science,  and  undermine  the  foundations  of  social  order. 
Why  then  should  not  these  sins  be  punished  with  divine 
retributions,  equally  terrible  ? 

“  One  of  the  first  acts  of  avowed  atheism  in  revolution¬ 
ary  France  was  to  abolish  the  Christian  Sabbath  ;  and  the 
Lord  came  out  against  her  “  with  fire,  and  with  his  char¬ 
iots  like  a  whirlwind,  to  render  his  anger  with  fury,  and 
liis  rebukes  with  flames  of  fire.”  Well  appointed  fleets 
and  armies  have  often  been  discomfited  in  their  offensive 
operations  upon  the  Sabbath.  Three  remarkable  in¬ 
stances  of  this  occurred  during  our  last  war  with  Great 
Britain,  in  each  of  which  the  enemy  was  the  assailant,  and 
in  each,  met  with  a  signal  overthrow.  In  like  manner, 
we  believe,  did  almost  every  battle  and  skirmish  during 
the  war  terminate,  in  the  defeat  of  the  party  making  the 
attack  on  the  Sabbath  d9.y.  Let  politicians  and  historians 
ascribe  all  this  to  valor,  or  chance,  or  whatever  else  they 


LEGISLATIVE  ACTION. 


259 


please,  we  shall  still  regard  it,  as  no  equivocal  testimony 
of  the  anger  of  God  against  the  despisers  of  his  law. 

“  If  from  the  sins  and  punishments  of  nations  and  armies 
on  the  Lord’s  day,  we  pass  to  individual  transgressors, 
we  are  brought  to  the  same  conclusion.  Were  a  Howard 
to  go  through  all  the  wards  and  dungeons  of  our  pi'isons, 
and  take  down  the  honest  confession  of  every  wretched 
inmate,  who  can  doubt  that  nine  tenths  of  the  whole  num¬ 
ber  would  put  down  their  disregard  to  the  Sabbath  among 
the  causes  of  their  ruin  I 

“  We  say  little  here  of  the  multitudes  who  are  suddenly 
hurried  into  eternity,  in  the  very  act  of  profaning  the  Sab¬ 
bath.  Thousands  perish  thus  every  year  in  all  the  glee 
and  temerity  of  transgression. 

“  That  there  is  nothing  miraculous  in  any  of  the  cases 
which  have  been  mentioned,  does  not  mitigate  in  the  least 
against  the  position  we  have  taken,  unless  it  be  proved 
that  God  cannot  punish  communities  and  individuals  in 
any  other  way.  But  who  will  attempt  to  prove  this  'I 
Surely  no  one,  so  long  as  he  is  in  his  right  mind,  ‘  God 
is  governor  among  the  nations,’  and  he  can  never  be  at  a 
loss  how  to  employ  natural  agents  and  moral  causes, 
either  to  chastise  or  utterly  to  destroy  his  enemies.” 

Legislative  Action. 

577.  It  should  be  directed  to  the  encouragement  and 
support  of  the  sacred  observance  of  the  Sabbath  ;  and  to 
the  repeal  of  laws  for  the  transportation  of  Sabbath  mails, 
by  which  directly  and  indirectly  so  much  desecration  of 
the  Lord’s  day  is  produced.  It  behooves  our  rulers  like¬ 
wise  to  lend  all  the  weight  of  their  precepts  and  example 
to  promote  Sabbath  observance  among  all  classes  of  the 
people  :  for  without  it  we  cannot  become  that  happy  peo¬ 
ple,  whom  righteousness  exalteth,  and  whose  God  is  Je¬ 
hovah. 

VII.  Class  of  Persons  particularly  addressed  in  this 
Commandment. 

578,  It  is  addressed  friinarihj  to  each  head  of  a  house¬ 
hold.  “  Remember  the  Sabbath  day,  &c. ;  in  it  thou  shalt 
not  do  any  work,  thou,  nor  thy  son,  nor  thy  daughter &:c. 

“  This  part  of  the  precept  (says  Professor  Bush)  goes 
not  only  to  extend  the  obligation,  but  also  to  secure  the 


260 


PERSONS  SPECIALLY  ADDRESSED. 


privileges  of  the  Sabbath  to  every  class  and  condition  of 
men.  The  wife,  indeed,  is  not  mentioned,  because  she 
is  supposed  to  be  one  with  the  husband,  and  as  cooperat¬ 
ing  with  him  of  course  in  carrying  into  execution  every 
commandment  of  God.  But  the  rest  of  the  family,  sons 
and  daughters,  male  and  female  servants,  are  specified  in 
sucli  a  way  as  to  throw  upon  heads  of  families  the  re¬ 
sponsibility  of  uniting  all  their  household  establishment  in 
the  due  observance  of  the  day. 

“  Whatever  relief,  refreshment,  or  rest,  may  be  in¬ 
tended  to  be  afforded  by  the  institution,  servants,  and 
even  cattle,  are  to  be  sacredly  considei’ed  as  entitled  to 
its  merciful  provisions.  It  is,  indeed,  the  destiny  of  man, 
that  he  should  earn  his  bread  by  the  sweat  of  his  brow,  but 
the  Sabbath  is  graciously  bestowed  upon  him  as  a  relief 
from  that  destiny.  His  mental  energy  and  bodily  health 
are  to  be  renewed  by  its  leisure ;  and  God,  who  has  thus 
bestowed  upon  man  the  substantial  blessing  of  a  peri¬ 
odical  cessation  from  toil,  has  decreed  the  same  privilege 
to  the  menial  classes  and  to  the  inferior  animals. 

“  The  domestic,  on  that  day,  should  be  released  as  far 
as  possible  from  his  ordinary  labors,  and  the  beast  which 
has  served  us  faithfully  during  the  week,  should  Jnot  be 
deprived  of  his  share  of  the  general  repose.  Were  this 
law  but  duly  observed,  the  servants  in  many  families 
could  be  spared  that  labor  on  the  Sabbath  which  now  too 
often  prevents  their  attending  to  any  religious  duty. 
Nor  would  the  use  of  horses  for  traveling  so  extensively 
disgrace  our  own  and  other  Christian  lands.  Many  a 
driver  and  ostler,  who  knows  no  cessation  from  his  daily 
task,  would  be  found  frequenting  the  place  of  worship  ; 
and  many  a  poor  animal  which  now  pants  under  the  lash 
of-  the  Sabbath,  would  then  be  permitted  to  recover 
strength  for  the  ensuing  six  days  of  inevitable  labor. 

It  was  a  pleasant  morning,  in  the  time 

When  the  leaves  fall — and  the  bright  sun  shone  out 

As  when  the  morning  stars  first  sang  together — 

So  quietly  and  calmly  fell  his  light 
Upon  a  world  at  rest.  There  was  no  leaf 
In  motion,  and  the  loud  winds  slept,  and  all 
Was  still.  The  laboring  herd  was  grazing 
Upon  the  hillside  quietly— uncall’d 
By  the  harsh  voice  of  man,  and  di.«tant  sound. 

Save  from  the  murmuring  waterfall,  came  not 
As  usual  on  the  ear.  One  hour  stole  on. 


EFFECT  OF  ABOLISHING  THE  SABBATH. 


2G1 


And  tlien  another  of  the  mornin;g',  calm 
And  still  as  Eden  ere  the  birth  of  man. 

And  then  broke  in  the  Sabbath  chime  of  bells — ■ 

And  the  old  man  and  his  descendants  went 
Together  to  the  house  of  God.  I  join’d 
The  well-apparel'd  crowd.  The  holy  man 
Rose  solemnly,  and  breath’d  the  prayer  of  faith — 

And  the  gray  saint,  just  on  the  wing  for  heaven — 

And  the  fair  maid — and  the  bright-haired  young  man — 

And  the  child  of  curling  locks,  just  taught  to  close 
The  lash  of  its  blue  eye  the  while; — all  knelt 
In  attitude  of  prayer — and  then  the  hymn. 

Sincere  in  its  low  melody,  went  up 
To  worship  God. 

The  white-haired  pastor  rose 
And  look’d  upon  his  flock — and  with  an  eye 
That  told  his  interest,  and  voice  that  spoke 
In  tremulous  accents,  eloquence  like  Paul’s, 

He  lent  Isaiah’s  fire  to  the  truths 
Of  revelation,  and  persuasion  came 
Like  gushing  waters  from  his  lips,  till  hearts 
Unus’d  to  bend  were  softened,  and  the  eye 
Unwont  to  weep  sent  forth  the  willing  tear. 

I  went  my  way — but  as  I  went,  1  thought 
How  holy  was  the  Sabbath-day  of  God.  Willis. 


VIII.  Consequences  of  a  universal  Violation  of  the  Fourth 
Commandment. 

579.  Let  us  suppose,  for  a  moment,  that  the  Sabbath, 
and  its  exercises,  and  its  influences,  were  universally 
abolished  from  the  civilized  world,  what  would  be  the 
consequences  % 

The  knowledge  of  the  true  God,  which  the  Sabbath, 
more  than  any  other  means,  has  tended  to  perpetuate, 
would  soon  be  lost,  his  worship  abandoned,  and  religious 
and  moral  principle  buried  in  the  dust.  In  pagan  coun¬ 
tries,  where  the  Sabbath  is  unknown,  the  true  God  is 
never  adored,  the  soul  of  man  is  debased,  and  prostrates 
itself  before  the  sun  and  moon,  and  even  before  demons, 
monsters,  insects,  reptiles,  and  blocks  of  wood  and  stone. 

In  France,  where  the  Sabbath  was,  for  a  season,  abol¬ 
ished,  an  impious  phantom,  called  the  Goddess  of  Rea¬ 
son,  was  substituted  in  tbe  room  of  the  eternal  God  ;  the 
Bible  was  held  up  to  ridicule,  and  committed  to  the 
flames ;  man  w’as  degraded  to  the  level  of  th.e  brutes ; 
and  the  cheering  prospects  of  immortality  were  changed 
into  the  shades  of  an  eternal  night.  Atheism,  skepticism, 
and  fatalism  almost  universally  prevailed ;  the  laws  of 
morality  were  trampled  under  foot,  and  anarchy,  plots, 


262 


DUTY  AND  EFFICACY  OP  PHAYER. 


assassinations,  and  legalized  plunder  became  the  order  of 
the  day. 

With  the  loss  of  the  knowledge  of  God,  all  impressions 
of  the  divine  presence,  and  all  sense  of  accountableness 
for  human  actions,  would  be  destroyed.  The  restraints 
of  religion,  and  the  prospect  of  a  future  judgment  would 
no  longer  deter  from  the  commission  of  crimes ;  and 
nothing  but  the  dread  of  the  dungeon,  the  gibbet,  or  the 
rack,  would  restrain  mankind  from  the  constant  perpe¬ 
tration  of  injustice  and  deeds  of  violence.  The  pursuit 
of  the  objects  of  time  and  sense,  which  can  be  enjoyed 
only  for  a  few  years,  would  absorb  every  faculty  of  th.e 
soul ;  and  the  realities  of  the  eternal  world  would  either 
be  forgotten  or  regarded  as  idle  dreams. 

Were  the  Sabbath  abolished,  or  were  the  law  which 
enforces  its  observance  to  be  reversed,  man  would  be 
doomed  to  spend  his  mortal  existence  in  an  unbroken 
series  of  labors ;  his  mental  powers  would  languish,  and 
his  bodily  strength  would  be  speedily  wasted.  Habits 
of  cleanliness,  civility  of  deportment,  and  decency  of 
apparel  would  by  vast  multitudes  be  disregarded,  and 
the  persons  and  habitations  of  the  laboring  classes  would 
soon  resemble  in  filthiness  those  of  the  degraded  Hotten¬ 
tot.  Their  minds  would  neither  be  cheered  with  the 
prospect  of  seasons  of  stated  repose  in  this  ■world,  nor  of 
eternal  rest  and  joy  in  the  world  to  come. 

IX.  Duty  and  Efficacy  of  Prayer. 

580.  When  defined  with  strictness,  prayer  is  the  sup¬ 
plicatory  address  of  a  creature  to  his  Creator,  in  which 
he  humbly  entreats  him  to  confer  some  blessing,  to  re¬ 
move  some  present  evil,  or  to  defend  him  from  future 
danger  which  he  has  reason  to  fear.  It  is  usually  under¬ 
stood,  however,  with  greater  latitude,  and  then  compre¬ 
hends  adoration  of  the  divine  attributes,  confession  of  sin, 
petition  for  mercies  and  blessings  needed,  and  thanks¬ 
giving  for  favors  received. 

In  the  beautiful  language  of  Hannah  More,  “  Prayer 
is  the  application  of  want  to  Him  who  only  can  relievo 
it;  the  voice  of  sin  to  Him  who  alone  can  pardon  it.  It 
is  the  urgency  of  poverty,  the  prostration  of  humility, 
the  fervency  of  penitence,  the  confidence  of  trust.  It  is 
not  eloquence,  but  earnestness;  not  the  definition  of  help- 


OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  DUTY  OF  PRAYER. 


263 


lessness,  but  the  feeling  of  it ;  not  figures  of  speech,  but 
compunction  of  soul.  It  is  the  ‘  Lord,  save  us,  or  we  perish’ 
of  drowning  Peter ;  the  cry  of  faith  to  the  ear  of  mercy.” 

581.  Wherever  the  light  of  nature  taught  men  to  ac¬ 
knowledge  the  being  of  a  God,  to  that  God  also  it  dmected 
them  to  pray. 

(1.)  When  one  man  desires  to  obtain  anything  of  an¬ 
other,  he  betakes  himself  to  entreaty :  and  tliis  may  be 
observed  of  mankind  in  all  ages  and  countries  of  the 
world.  Now,  what  is  universal  may  be  called  natural  ; 
and  it  seems  probable  that  God,  as  our  Supreme  Gov¬ 
ernor,  should  expect  that  toward  himself,  which,  by  a 
natural  impulse,  or  by  the  irresistible  order  of  our  consti¬ 
tution,  he  has  prompted  us  to  pay  to  every  other  being  on 
whom  we  depend.  The  same  may  be  said  of  thanksgiving. 

(2.)  Prayer  is  likewise  necessary  to  keep  up  in  the 
minds  of  men  a  sense  of  God’s  agency  in  the  universe, 
and  of  their  own  dependence  upon  him. 

(3.)  There  must  be  allowed  to  be  an  efficacy  or  utility 
in  prayer,  or  it  would  not  seem  to  us  to  be  a  duty  to 
pray.  No  one  can  feel  prompted  to  pray  who  expects 
nothing  from  his  prayers.  The  efficacy  of  prayer  imports 
that  we  obtain  something  in  consequence  of  praying 
which  we  should  not  have  received  without  praying. 

582.  In  the  sacred  scripture,  prayer  is  inculcated  in 
numberless  instances,  in  the  form  of  express  precept,  of 
examples,  of  parables,  of  promise,  and  of  threatening,  as 
must  be  familiar  to  every  reader  of  the  Scriptures. 

X.  Ohjections  to  the  duty  of  Prayer. 

583.  It  is  said  that  since  God  knows  what  our  wants 
are,  it  can  serve  no  purpose  to  tell  him  concerning  them, 
as  if  he  needed  Information ;  and  if  he  is  a  being  of 
infinite  benevolence,  there  is  no  occasion  to  make  use  of 
entreaties,  and  to  fill  our  mouths  with  arguments,  be¬ 
cause  his  own  nature  will  undoubtedly  prompt  him  to 
promote  the  happiness  of  his  creatures. 

584.  [a.)  In  answer  to  the  first  part  of  this  objection  wo 
remark,  that  although  prayer  is  certainly  not  necessary 
for  the  purpose  of  giving  information  to  God,  yet  it  does 
not  follow,  upon  this  concession,  that  it  is  superfluous,  be¬ 
cause  there  may  he  other  reasons  of  great  importance yhr 
which  it  is  reqtiired. 


201  OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  DUTY  OF  PRAYER. 


585.  (1.)  It  may  be  enjoined  as  the  means  of  impress¬ 
ing  o-ur  own  minds  more  deeply  with  a  sense  of  our 
wants,  and  of  bringing  them  into  that  state  in  which  alone 
it  is  proper  that  blessings  should  be  bestowed  upon  us. 

(2.)  It  may  be  enjoined  to  alfect  us  more  strongly  with 
a  feeling  of  our  dependence  upon  God,  and  to  express 
that  feeling  to  others  who  witness  our  prayers,  with 
a  view  to  convince  them  and  ourselves  that  the  good 
things  which  we  obtain  do  not  come  to  us  by  chance,  but 
by  his  appointment  and  agency. 

(3.)  We  do  not  pray  to  inform  God  of  our  wants  (says 
H.  More),  but  to  express  our  sense  of  the  wants  which  Ho 
already  knows.  As  He  has  not  so  much  made  his  promise 
to  o-ur  necessities  as  to  our  I'equests,  it  is  reasonable  that 
our  requests  should  be  made  before  we  can  hope  that  our 
necessities  will  be  relieved.  God  does  not  promise  to 
those  who  xoant  that  they  shall  “  have,”  but  to  those  who 
“  ask.” 

586.  (Z».)  To  suppose,  according  to  the  second  part  of 
the  objection,  tha-t  His  infinite  goodness  will  prompt  him 
to  supply  our  wants  without  any  solicitation  on  our  part, 
is  a  hasty  inference  from  a  partial  view  of  his  character,  and 
is  contrary  to  the  general  analogy  of  his  administration. 
The  supposition  proceeds  upon  the  idea  that  benevolence 
is  the  only  attribute  of  his  nature,  and  that  he  is  instinct¬ 
ively  and  necessarily  impelled  by  it  to  communicate  him¬ 
self,  as  the  sun  necessarily  gives  us  light,  or  a  fountain 
pours  out  its  contents. 

But  as  God  is  possessed  of  other  perfections,  there 
may  be  moral  restraints  upon  Ids  hcnevolence  :  there  may 
be  reasons  why  it  should  not  be  exercised  indiscriminately, 
and  why  the  supplications  of  his  creatures  should  pre¬ 
cede  the  distribution  of  his  gifts.  The  argument  proves 
nothing  by  proving  too  much  ;  for  if  we  infer  from  his 
benevolence  that  there  is  no  necessity  for  prayer,  we 
might  also  infer  that  there  is  no  necessity  for  means  o-f 
any  kind,  and  that  all  our  wants  will  be  supplied  without 
labor.  God,  however,  has  not  ordained  that  the  earth 
should  spontaneously  yield  its  fruits,  but  has  made  its 
productions  the  reward  of  cultivation ;  and  it  is  therefore 
conformable  to  the  order  of  things  that  men  should  first 
ask,  and  then  receive. 

587.  Another  objection  is  derived  from  the  wisdom 


OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  DUTY  OP  PRAYER. 


265 


and  immutability  of  God,  and  is  thus  stated  :  As  God  is 
an  infallible  judge  of  what  is  proper  to  be  done,  he  surely 
will  do  it  whether  we  ask  him  or  not ;  and  if  he  has  de¬ 
termined  that  it  is  not  proper,  vain  and  presumptuous  is 
the  hope  that  we  shall  prevail  upon  him  to  alter  his  pur¬ 
pose  by  our  importunity.  In  fewer  words  the  objection 
is  thus  stated  by  Dr.  Paley:  “  If  what  we  request  be  fit 
for  us,  we  shall  have  it  without  praying ;  if  it  be  not  fit 
for  us,  we  cannot  obtain  it  by  praying.” 

588.  Dr.  Paley  says  that  this  objection  admits  of  but 
one  answer,  namely,  that  it  may  be  agreeable  to  perfect 
wisdom  to  grant  that  to  our  jjrayers,  which  it  would  not 
have  been  agreeable  to  the  same  wisdom  to  give  us  with¬ 
out  praying  for. 

589.  Professor  Dick,  in  reply  to  the  objection,  remarks, 
(1.)  that  the  argument  from  the  wisdom  of  God,  which, 
it  is  said,  will  lead  him  to  do  what  is  fit  without  being 
asked,  establishes  the  very  point  which  it  is  intended  to 
disprove.  There  are  many  things,  no  doubt,  which  will 
advance  his  glory,  and  which  he  will  therefore  do  inde¬ 
pendently  of  us  ;  but  the  point  now  under  consideration, 
is  the  communication  of  blessings  to  individuals,  and  the 
question  is,  whether  it  would  be  proper  to  bestow  favors 
upon  them,  in  all  cases,  without  prayer  % 

We  answer,  that  it  would  not  be  proper,  because  it 
would  tend  to  cherish  a  spirit  of  impiety,  to  dissolve  the 
moral  relation  of  man  to  his  Maker,  to  encourage  the 
neglect  of  Him  which  is  too  natural,  and  the  ingratitude 
which  we  so  often  display  amid  the  most  abundant  to¬ 
kens  of  his  goodness.  Would  it  be  proper  that  a  guilty 
man  should  be  pardoned,  who  will  not  be  at  pains  to  im¬ 
plore  the  mercy  of  his  Sovei'eign  1 

(2.)  In  regard  to  the  immutability  of  God,  we  acknowl¬ 
edge  that  it  would  be  vain  to  hope  that  we  shall  change 
his  purpose  by  our  entreaties.  Our  prayers  are  offered 
up  with  no  such  design.  We  do  not  conceive  that  there 
is  any  decree  which  must  be  reversed  before  they  can 
be  an.swered.  If  there  is  any  case  in  which  it  is  un¬ 
certain  whether  our  wishes  are  in  unison  with  the  will 
of  God,  as  when  we  pray  for  the  recovery  of  others 
from  sickness,  our  petitions  are  presented  with  this  res¬ 
ervation.  In  other  cases,  we  assume,  upon  the  authority 
of  his  word,  that  He  is  ready  to  bestow  blessings  upon  us, 

M 


266 


TRUE  NATURE  AND  USE  OF  PRAYER. 


and  only  waits  till  we  have  made  our  humble  and  earnest 
request.  We  do  not  call  upon  God  to  alter  the  estab¬ 
lished  order  of  his  administration,  but  to  act  conformably 
to  it;  and  this  is  the  order,  as  we  are  informed  on  the 
highest  authority  :  “  Ask,  and  it  shall  be  given  you  ;  seek 
and  ye  shall  find.” 

Now’  here  is  nothing  to  be  changed  ;  no  new  inclina¬ 
tion  to  be  excited  in  the  Object  of  worship.  It  is  agree¬ 
able  to  his  character  and  his  purpose  to  attend  to  the 
supplications  of  men,  for  he  is  described  in  his  own  word 
as  the  hearer  of  prayer.  Whatever  false  notions  the 
ignorant  may  entertain  of  God,  as  if  he  resembled  a  man, 
whose  judgment  may  be  convinced  by  arguments,  and 
whose  affection  may  be  gained  over  to  those  whom  be 
has  formerly  regarded  with  aversion ;  true  Christians  be¬ 
lieve  that  He  is  of  himself  disposed  to  fulfill  our  desires. 
They  do  indeed  expect  that  he  will  do  something  for 
them,  in  consequence  of  their  prayers,  which  he  would 
not  have  done  for  them  if  they  had  not  prayed ;  but  they 
do  not  therefore  consider  him  a  changeable  being.  To 
give  blessings  when  they  are  asked,  which  he  would  not 
have  given  if  they  had  not  been  asked,  is  not  more  a 
proof  of  mutability,  than  it  is  to  crown  with  his  goodness 
a  cultivated  field,  which  would  have  yielded  nothing  for 
the  nourishment  of  men,  if  it  had  not  been  ploughed  and 
sown. 

Prayer,  then,  is  not  an  attempt  to  prevail  on  the  Al¬ 
mighty  to  alter  his  plan;  but  it  either  supposes,  or  it 
produces  in  us  that  state  of  mind  which  His  wisdom  re¬ 
quires  as  a  preparation  for  the  reception  of  his  favors. 
And  certainly  it  does  not  destroy  or  diminish  the  freeness 
of  divine  mercies,  that  they  must  be  sought  before  they 
can  be  obtained.  Who  would  call  in  question  the  be¬ 
nevolence  of  the  man  who  was  disposed  to  assist  every 
person  who  applied  to  him  ] 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  objections  urged  against 
prayer  have  no  force,  and  are  as  little  founded  on  reason 
as  on  Scripture.  They  have  been  suggested  by  the  spirit 
of  irreligion,  which  labors  to  estrange  man  from  his 
Maker. 

[Dr,  Chalmers  has  produced  a  fine  chapter  on  a  Special  Providence  and 
the  Efficacy  of  Prayer,  in  his  Nat,  Theology,  vol.  ii.  pp.  314-358.] 

.^90.  For  the  right  and  acceptable  performance  of  the 


SUBJECTS  AND  KINDS  OF  PRAYER. 


267 


duty  of  prayer,  we  stand  in  need  of  the  constant  use  of 
sacred  scripture.  Its  doctrines  exhibit  the  privileges 
which  God  confers  upon  believers  ,•  its  precepts  enjoin 
duties  which  only  his  grace  can  enable  us  to  pei'form ; 
its  histories  relate  the  blessings  which  men  in  former 
ages  have  obtained  ;  its  threatenings  denounce  evils  from 
which  no  arm  but  his  own  can  deliver  us  ;  its  promises 
hold  out  to  us  the  good  things  prepared  for  those  who 
seek  him ;  and  the  prayers  of  the  saints  are  recorded  as 
pattems  to  us,  when  we  are  placed  in  similar  circum¬ 
stances. 

591.  In  regard  to  the  proper  siihjects  of  prayer,  it  should 
not  be  confined  to  ourselves,  but  extended  to  all  men. 
Says  the  inspired  Paul,  “  I  exhort,  therefore,  that,  first 
of  all,  supplications,  prayers,  intercessions,  and  giving  of 
thanks,  be  made  for  all  men  ;  for  kings,  and  for  all  that 
are  in  authority,  that  we  may  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable 
life  in  all  godliness  and  honesty.” 

Such  an  exhortation,  and  commands  resembling  it  in 
other  parts  of  Scripture,  lead  us  to  infer  that  there  is 
some  ejfcacy  in  prayer.  It  is  not  only  an  expression  of 
our  desires,  but  a  7neans  of  obtaining  the  divine  blessing. 
It  is  improper,  therefore,  to  consider  it  as  solely  intended 
for  our  personal  improvement,  by  awakening  devout 
sentiments  and  feelings,  and  giving  scope  for  the  exer¬ 
cise  of  Christian  tempers  ;  thei’e  is  a  connection  between 
it  and  the  end  proposed,  similar  to  the  connection  be¬ 
tween  means  and  ends  in  the  economy  of  natuie. 

592.  Prayer  may  be  distinguished,  according  to  the 
circumstances  in  which  it  is  delivered,  into  public,  social, 
and  secret.  There  is  always  a  demand  for  prayer  in 
public  religious  assemblies,  in  smaller  circles  and  families, 
and  in  solitude. 

Of  social  or  family  prayer,  our  Savior  has  given  an 
example  in  his  prayers  for  and  with  his  disciples  :  it  is 
implied  in  the  accounts  of  good  men,  which  we  find  in 
the  Scriptures ;  and  it  has  been  practiced  in  all  ages  by 
the  saints.  There  is  no  proper  fear  of  God  in  that  house 
where  the  social  exercises  of  devotion  are  unknown  ;  and 
it  is  worthy  of  observation,  while  the  fact  may  seem 
strange,  and  is  deeply  to  be  lamented,  that  it  is  only 
among  professed  or  nominal  Christians  that  family  wor¬ 
ship  is  neglected,  and  that  Mohammedans,  and  even 


268 


WHAT  PRAYERS  ARE  ACCEPTABLE. 


heathens,  act  more  consistently  in  carrying  their  religion 
into  the  bosom  of  their  families,  and  the  ordinary  tians- 
actions  of  life. 

The  influence  of  daily  prayer,  morning  and  evening, 
upon  the  members  of  a  family,  when  properly  conducted, 
is  one  of  the  most  powerful  safeguards  of  virtue,  and 
aids  to  the  culture  of  piety  in  the  family  circle,  and  in 
the  community  of  which  such  family  forms  an  important 
integral  part. 

XI.  What  Prayers  are  acceptable. 

593.  (1.)  Those  which  are  addressed  to  God  alone,  and 
not  to  any  created  being,  however  exalted.  “  Thou  shall 
worship  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  him  only  shall  thou 
serve.”  He  has  also  appropriated  to  himself  the  title  of 
Hearer  of  prayer.  Neither  saints  nor  angels  can  hear 
us,  or  supply  our  necessities,  if  they  could. 

(2.)  Prayers,  to  be  acceptable,  must  be  offered  up  in 
the  name  of  Christ,  the  only  mediator  between  God  and 
men. 

(3.)  They  must  be  regulated  by  the  Scriptures,  and 
consist  solely  in  petitions  for  such  blessings  as  God  has 
promised  to  bestow  or  encouraged  us  to  ask  for. 

(4.)  In  prayer,  the  understanding  must  be  exercised, 
or  it  will  not  be  a  rational  service.  If  men  repeat  a 
number  of  words  without  meanino"  or  without  reflectino- 
upon  their  import ;  if  they  are  ignorant  or  inattentive, 
instead  of  drawing  down  the  blessing  of  God,  they  will 
incur  his  displeasure.  Hence  the  practice  of  praying  in 
an  unknown  tongue  is  most  irrational,  unscriptural,  and 
useless. 

(5.)  Prayers  must  be  offered  up  with  the  heart,  as  well 
as  with  the  understanding;  they  must  be,  not  only  intel¬ 
ligent,  but  sincere. 

(6.)  “  If  we  do  not  live  in  the  daily  study  of  the  holy 
scriptures,  we  shall  want  the  highest  motives  to  this 
duty,  and  the  best  helps  for  performing  it  acceptably.” 

(7.)  Those  who  offer  acceptable  prayer,  will  not  con¬ 
fine  it  to  the  Sabbath  day,  but  esteem  it  a  privilege  and 
a  duty  to  offer  it  each  day  of  their  lives,  and  that  more 
than  once,  in  secret  and  in  their  families.  They  will  also 
be  happy  to  frequent,  during  the  week,  those  meetings  in 
which  social  prayer  is  offered. 


SUPPORT  OF  PUBLIC  WORSHIP. 


269 


XII.  Duty  of  Supporting  and  Encouraging  Public  Worship. 

594.  We  have  shown  that  the  public  worship  of  God 
is  a  dictate  of  reason,  and  is  recommended  by  the  very 
important  advantages,  personal  and  social,  which  attend 
it.  We  have  shown  that  it  constitutes  an  important  in¬ 
tegral  part  of  the  appropriate  occupation  of  Sabbath  time. 
It  is  proper  and  beneficial,  also,  occasionally  during  the 
week. 

It  is  seen  thus,  to  be  the  duty  of  men  to  maintain  the 
public  worship  of  God,  and  to  secure  its  being  conducted 
in  a  manner  honorable  to  God,  and  profitable  to  them¬ 
selves. 

This  will  require  provision  to  be  made  for  the  educa¬ 
tion  and  support  of  an  order  of  men  qualified  to  conduct 
the  public  service  of  God;  not  only  among  ourselves, 
but  in  other  communities  that  are  destitute.  This  cannot 
be  done  without  liberal  contributions  of  the  requisite 
means  ;  which,  therefore,  should  be  regarded  as  a  part  of 
our  religious  duty,  and  of  the  duty  of  philanthropy ;  for 
the  best  temporal,  as  well  as  eternal  interests  of  men,  are 
promoted  by  the  public  service  in  Christian  churches. 
These  contributions  should  not  be  exacted  only  of  the 
liberal  few,  but  every  man  and  woman  should,  according 
to  their  ability,  bear  a  cheerful  part.  If  this  were  done 
throughout  Christendom,  not  many  years  would  elapse 
before  the  advantages  of  Christian  worship  would  be 
enjoyed  by  all  nations. 

The  duty  of  supporting  public  worship  relates  not 
merely  to  bearing  the  expense  of  it,  but  also  to  affording 
'encouragement,  by  a  regular  attendance  upon  it,  and  a 
serious  participation  in  its  solemn  exergises. 

It  also  implies  the  erecting  of  suitable  houses  for  the 
public  worship  of  God,  neat,  tasteful,  commodious,  re¬ 
spectable  ;  though  it  does  not  require  the  expense  and 
ostentation  of  erecting  fihose  which  are  gorgeous  and  ex¬ 
travagant  in  their  decorations. 

[Professor  Dick’s  Lectures  ;  Dick’s  Philosophy  of  Religion ;  Paley’s 
Moral  Philosophy  ;  Archbishop  Seeker’s  Works ;  Phelps  on  the  Sabbath  ; 
Bush  on  Exodus.] 


551.  What  is  the  nature  of  this  precept? 

552.  What  considerations  show  the  importance  of  such  a  precept,  for 
the  sake  of  securing  the  public  wo.rship  of  God  ? 


270 


QUESTIONS  ON  THE  FOURTH  PRECEPT. 


553.  What  account  have  vve  in  the  Scriptures  of  the  origin  and  date  of 
the  Sabbath  ? 

554.  As  an  institution,  of  how  many  parts  does  the  Sabbath  consist? 

555.  What  is  said  respecting  the  date  of  this  institution  ? 

556.  W'as  the  Sabbath  intended  to  be  observed  by  all  men,  or  by  the 
Jews  only  ? 

557.  What  objection  made  to  this  view  of  the  subject  is  first  noticed 

558.  What  reply  is  made  to  this  objection? 

559.  What  are  some  of  the  favorite  proof-texts  of  the  opponents  of  the 
Sabbath  ? 

5C0.  What  things  are  unjustly  assumed  concerning  these  passages  ? 

561.  What  is  the  real  meaning  of  the  passages  under  consideration  ? 

562.  What  other  passage  is  improperly  adduced  to  prove  that  the  Sab¬ 
bath  is  an  institution  appointed  for  the  Jews  merely  ? 

563.  How  is  this  passage  to  be  explained  ? 

564.  Can  we  produce  any  positive  precept  in  support  of  such  a  change? 

565.  What  facts  are  related  in  the  New  Testament,  which  show  that 
the  "apostles  and  early  Christians  celebrated  the  first  day  of  the  week  as 
the  Sabbath  ? 

566.  How  were  the  Jews  required  to  observe  the  Sabbath  ? 

567.  Is  the  same  strictness  in  the  mode  of  keeping  the  Sabbath  obliga¬ 
tory  upon  Christians? 

568.  What  prominent  purposes  were  to  be  answered  by  the  Sabbath? 

569.  W'hat  kinds  of  labor,  on  the  Sabbath,  are  clearly  prohibited  ? 

570.  What  are  the  usual  consequences  of  a  flagrant  violation  of  the 
Sabbath  ? 

571.  What  particular  testimony  may  here  be  referred  to  in  proof? 

572.  How  does  it  appear  that  the  Sabbath,  as  a  day  of  rest  from  worldly 
labor,  is  for  man  a  wise  and  merciful  appointment? 

573.  For  what  other  class  of  beings  beside  man  was  the  weekly  Sabbath 
mercifully  appointed? 

574.  What  important  medical  testimony  may  be  adduced  in  favor  of  the 
observance  of  the  Sabbath,  and,  consequently,  in  proof  of  the  wisdom  and 
mercifulness  of  its  appointment  ? 

575.  What  important  testimony  is  given  by  Lord  Chief  Justice  Hale,  to 
the  value  of  a  regular  and  strict  observance  of  the  Sabbath  ? 

576.  What  testimony  has  God  himself  given  of  his  displeasure  against 
a  Sabbath-breaking  nation,  and  against  Sabbath-breaking  individuals? 

577.  What  inference  may  be  justly  drawn  from  these  remaiks  concern¬ 
ing  the  legislative  action  of  our  government  ? 

578.  What  class  of  persons  are  particularly  addressed  in  the  Fourth 
Commandment,  and  especially  charged  with  the  responsibility  of  promot¬ 
ing  its  observance,  beside  observing  it  themselves  ? 

579.  What  would  be  the  consequences  were  the  Sabbath  universally 
abolished  ? 

580.  W’hat  is  the  nature  of  this  duty  ? 

581.  Does  the  light  of  nature  teach  us  the  duty  of  prayer? 

582.  Is  prayer  inculcated  as  a  duty  upon  all  in  the  sacred  scriptures? 

583.  What  objection  may  first  be  noticed  ? 

•584.  What  answers  may  be  returned  to  ftis  objection  ? 

585.  For  what  reasons  may  prayer  be  required  ? 

586.  How  is  it  shown  that  the  divine  goodness  does  not  supersede  the 
duty,  or  destroy  the  utility  of  prayer? 

587.  What  other  objection  is  advanced  for  the  discouragement  of 
prayer  ? 

588.  What  answer  does  Dr.  Paley  return  to  this  objection? 

589.  What  answer  does  Professor  Dick  furnish  to  this  objection? 

590.  Where  may  we  obtain  all  the  information  that  is  needful  to  the 
right  and  acceptable  performance  of  the  duty  of  prayer? 


THE  FIFTH  COMMANDMENT. 


271 


591.  Who  are  proper  subjects  of  prayer  7 

592.  How  may  prayer  be  distinguished  ? 

593.  What  prayers  are  acceptable  ? 

594.  Whence  results  this  duty,  and  what  does  it  imply  ? 

THE  SECOND  TABLE  OF  THE  LAW. 

FIFTH  COMMANDMENT. 

“  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother  ;  that  thy  days  may  be  long  upon  the  land  which 
the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee." 

We  enter  now  upon  the  consideration  of  the  Second 
Table,  or  Tablet,  of  the  law,  prescribing  our  Duty  to 
Man.  It  is,  in  fact,  our  duty  to  God,  because  he  enjoins 
it ;  but  it  is  called  our  duty  to  man  because  he  is  the  im¬ 
mediate  object  of  it. 

I.  General  Design  of  the  Fifth  Commandment. 

595.  It  prescribes  the  duties  of  superiors  and  inferiors, 
while  the  remaining  four  precepts  of  the  law  relate  to  men 
considered  as  equals.  It  may  be  regarded  as  the  Law  of 
Relative  Duty :  the  duly  of  one  of  the  relations  of  life 
being  taught  as  a  representation  of  the  rest.  Though  the 
duty  of  the  inferior  only,  the  child,  is  here  brought  to 
view,  yet,  according  to  rules  of  interpretation  already  ex¬ 
plained,  the  corresponding  duty  of  the  superior,  the  pa¬ 
rent,  is  implied. 

596.  Some  of  the  relations  of  society  are  founded  in 
nature  ;  others  in  mutual  compact.  Men  are,  by  nature, 
related  universally  to  each  other,  as  they  are  descended 
from  one  common  stock,  for  “  God  has  made  of  one  blood 
all  nations  of  men  to  dwell  on  the  face  of  the  earth.” 
They  are  more  particularly  related,  as  they  are  descended 
from  the  same  immediate  or  remote  ancestors. 

There  are  other  relations,  which,  although  agreeable  to 
nature,  or  to  the  constitution,  circumstances,  and  wants 
of  man,  are  yet  founded  on  mutual  compact :  of  this  de¬ 
scription  are  the  relations  of  husband  and  wife,  masters 
and  servants,  magistrates  and  subjects. 

The  duties  resulting  from  these  relations  are  of  so 
much  importance  to  the  order  and  happiness  of  society, 
that  they  are  made,  in  this  commandment,  the  subject  of 
positive  prescription. 


272 


DUTY  OF  CHILDREN  TO  PARENTS. 


The  School-Boy. 

597.  A  late  writer  observes  : — “  I  knew  a  little  boy  at 
school  whose  father  was  dead.  He  was  one  day  writing 
a  copy  in  his  book,  ‘  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother 
he  wrote  a  few  lines,  and  then  laid  down  his  pen  and  be¬ 
gan  to  weep.  He  began  again,  and  wrote  a  few  lines 
more  ;  but  his  memory  was  at  work  recalling  to  his  mind 
the  happy  days  he  had  passed  with  his  dear  deceased  father, 
and  he  wept  anew.  He  could  not  go  on,  but  sobbed  aloud. 

‘  What  is  the  matter,  my  boy  said  his  teacher.  ‘  Oh 
Mr.  Blake,  I  cannot  write  this  copy ;  for  my  father  is 
dead.  Please  give  me  another  page,  and  cut  this  leaf 
out.  I  cannot  write  it.’  ” 

That  little  boy's  conduct,  in  honoring  his  parent,  may 
serve  to  prepare  us  for  a  consideration  of  the  duties  of 
the  Fifth  Commandment. 

II.  Duty  of  Children  to  Parents. 

598.  Under  the  tei'm  honor,  are  included  many  partic¬ 
ulars.  Children  are  hereby  required  to  love  their  parents  ; 
to  reverence  them  in  their  hearts,  and  treat  them  with 
outward  respect ;  to  obey  their  lawful  commands  ;  to 
conform  to  the  regulations  which  they  establish  in  their 
families ;  to  entertain  a  grateful  sense  of  all  the  care  and 
kindness  which  they  have  experienced  from  them  ;  to  ac¬ 
knowledge  them  in  any  important  step  that  is  contem¬ 
plated  ;  to  assist  and  support  them  according  to  their 
ability,  if  they  are  in  such  circumstances  as  to  be  depend¬ 
ent  upon  them ;  and  to  continue  their  good  offices  during 
the  joint  lives  of  themselves  and  their  parents. 

599.  The  duty  of  love  involves  the  following  particu¬ 
lars  : — 

(1.)  It  is  the  only  state  of  mind  from  which  all  the  other 
duties  that  we  owe  them  arise.  We  should  guard  most 
carefully  against  prejudice,  and  not  allow  an  unfavorable 
impression  in  regard  to  them  to  be  made  upon  our 
minds. 

(2.)  Love  will  cause  us  to  delight  in  their  company,  and 
to  take  pleasure  in  being  at  home  with  them. 

(3.)  It  will  prompt  us  also  to  strive  in  all  things  to 
please  them.  If  we  are  careless  whether  we  please  or 
displease  any  one,  it  is  obviously  impossible  that  we  can 


DUTY  OF  CHILDREN  TO  PARENTS. 


273 


have  any  affection  for  them,  A  child’s  pleasure  should 

BE  TO  PLEASE  HIS  PARENTS. 

(4.)  Love  to  parents  implies  a  desire  of  their  good  opin- 
ion.  Children  should  be  desirous,  and  even  anxious,  to 
stand  high  in  the  opinion  of  their  parents,  and  nothing  can 
he  a  more  decisive  proof  of  a  bad  disposition  in  a  son  or 
a  daughter,  than  their  being  quite  indifferent  what  their 
parents  think  of  them. 

600,  The  duty  of filial  reverence  has  respect  Xo  feelings, 
words,  and  actions. 

Honor  thy  father,  and  thy  mother,  is  the  command. 
(1.)  This  implies  high  thovghts  of  their  superiority,  both 
natural  and  instituted  (as  placed  by  God  over  us),  and  a 
submission  of  the  heart  to  their  authority,  in  a  way  of  sin¬ 
cere  and  profound  respect. 

(2.)  Our  words  should  correspond  with  the  reverential 
feelings  of  the  heart.  When  speaking  to  them,  our  ad¬ 
dress,  both  in  language  and  in  tones,  should  be  modest, 
and  respectful ;  for  they  are  not  our  equals,  but  superiors. 
When  differing  frojn  them  in  opinion,  our  views  should  be 
expressed  not  with  the  flippancy  of  disputants,  but  with 
the  meek  inquisitiveness  of  pupils.  Shotdd  they  reprove, 
and  even  more  sharply  than  we  think  is  due,  we  should 
neither  answer  again  nor  show  resentment.  In  their 
company  there  should  always  be  a  restraint  upon  our 
speech.  We  should  never  talk  of  their  faults  to  others. 
We  should  not  speak  of  them  in  a  jocose  or  familiar  man¬ 
ner,  nor  say  anything  that  would  lead  others  to  think 
lightly,  or  to  suppose  that  we  think  lightly  of  them. 
Their  reputation,  if  attacked,  is  to  be  defended  with 
promptitude,  so  far  as  truth  will  allow. 

(3.)  Reverence  should  extend  to  all  our  behavior  toward 
our  parents.  The  utmost  deference  and  respect  is  to  be 
paid,  not  only  when  we  are  observed  by  others,  but  when 
no  other  spectator  is  near. 

Duty  of  Children  with  respect  to  the  Regulations  of  the  Family. 

601.  (1.)  In  every  well  ordered  family,  things  are  not 
left  to  chance,  but  regulated  by  fixed  laws :  there  is  a 
time  for  everything,  and  everything  in  its  time  j  a  place 
for  everything,  and  everything  in  its  place.  Meals, 
prayer,  going  to  bed,  and  rising  in  the  morning,  are  all 
in  their  appointed  season. 


274 


FAMILY  REGULATIONS. 


To  these  rules  it  is  the  obvious  duty  of  every  branch 
of  the  family,  older,  as  well  as  younger,  to  submit,  even 
though  they  may  consider  the  rules  too  strict.  It  is  enough 
that  the  parent  has  enacted  them. 

(2.)  It  is  the  right  of  parents,  also,  to  decide  what  vis^ 
itors  shall  be  brought  to  the  house  ;  and  it  is  in  the  higher 
desfree  unbecoming  for  a  child  to  introduce,  or  even  wish 
or  attempt  to  introduce,  any  companion,  contrary  to  the 
known  will  of  a  parent. 

(3.)  The  same  remark  will  apply  to  recreations :  pa¬ 
rents  must  determine  this  point,  and  no  child  that  has  the 
proper  feelings  of  a  child,  would  desire  to  set  up  any 
amusements  which  the  taste,  and  especially  the  con¬ 
science,  of  a  father  or  mother  forbids. 

Instances  have  occurred  of  young  people  inviting  such 
friends,  and  joining  with  them  in  such  diversions,  in  the 
absence  of  their  parents,  as  they  know  to  be  decidedly 
contrary  to  the  law  of  the  house.  This  is  an  act  of  base 
and  wicked  rebellion  against  parental  authority,  and  such 
an  unprincipled  disregard  to  parental  comfort,  as  language 
is  too  weak  to  characterize. 

(4.)  Even  the  hooks  which  are  brought  into  the  house, 
must  be  in  accordance  with  the  domestic  rule.  If  the  pa¬ 
rent  forbid  the  introduction  of  novels,  romances,  or  any 
other  books,  a  child,  in  most  cases,  should  forego  his  own 
predilections,  and  yield  to  an  authority  which  he  cannot  re¬ 
sist,  without  opposing  the  institute  of  nature  and  religion. 

Duty  of  Children  in  Regard  to  Misconduct  of  Parents. 

602.  Though  children  are  not  absolved  from  the  obli¬ 
gation  of  this  commandment  by  the  misconduct  of  their 
parents,  yet,  in  the  nature  of  things,  it  is  impossible  that 
they  should  yield  the  same  hearty  respect  and  veneration 
to  the  unworthy  as  to  the  worthy,  nor  does  God  require 
a  child  to  pay  an  irrational  honor  to  his  parents.  If  his 
parents  are  atheists,  he  cannot  honor  them  as  Christians ; 
if  they  are  prayerless  and  profane,  he  cannot  honor  them  • 
as  religious.  If  they  are  worldly,  avaricious,  overreach¬ 
ing,  unscrupulous  as  to  veracity  and  honest  dealing,  he 
cannot  honor  them  as  exemplary,  upright,  and  conscien¬ 
tious.  If  they  are  intemperate  and  abandoned,  he  cannot 
honor  them  as  sober  and  virtuous,  nor  truly  speak  of  them 
as  such.  JBut  a  child  is  particularly  obliged  to  think  as 


DUTY  OF  KINDNESS  TO  PARENTS. 


275 


well  as  he  can  of  his  parents,  and  to  conceal  their  faults 
unless  the  good  of  society  obviously  requires  their  ex¬ 
posure,  [Bush  on  Exodus.] 

When  children  feel  it  necessary  to  speak  to  their  pa¬ 
rents  of  misconduct  on  the  part  of  the  latter,  they  should 
do  it  with  all  possible  gentleness  and  modesty,  and  the 
most  sincere  regret  on  being  compelled  to  perform  so 
unnatural  an  office. 

Duty  of  Kindness  to  Paren  s. 

603.  (1.)  When  'parents  are  greatly  inferior  in  talents 
and  acquirements,  there  is  a  fine  occasion  for  the  exercise 
of  filial  piety.  Some  parents  are  deficient  not  only  in  in¬ 
formation,  but  in  judgment;  their  weakness  is  manifest 
to  all.  In  such  cases,  the  more  highly  gifted  children 
may  show  their  kindness,  by  not  taunting  their  parents 
with  their  defects  ;  by  not  laughing  at  their  mistakes,  or 
exposing  or  correcting  them  so  as  to  wound  the  feelings 
of  the  parent. 

Sometimes  illiterate  parents  expend  their  hard  earn¬ 
ings,  to  procure  for  their  children  the  advantages  and  re¬ 
finements  of  a  polished  education,  thus  creating  a  vast  su¬ 
periority  to  themselves  in  their  children.  In  such  cases, 
it  would  be  exceedingly  unkind  and  criminal  in  those 
children  to  undervalue  or  contemn  those  parents,  whose 
very  ignorance  imparts  a  greater  value  to  the  sacrifice  of 
labor  and  of  money  that  was  cheerfully  made  for  the  im¬ 
provement  of  their  children. 

(2.)  Kindness  will  show  itself  in  generous  attention  to 
poor  parents.  In  the  changes  of  human  affairs,  many 
children  leave  their  parents  behind  them  in  the  humble 
vale  of  poverty,  and  some  have  lost  their  filial  piety  in 
the  ascent.  Few  more  shocking  scenes  can  be  presented 
to  a  feeling  mind,  than  a  rich  son  or  daughter  ashamed 
of,  and  unkind  to,  a  poor  father  or  mother. 

How  beautiful  a  scene,  the  very  opposite  of  this,  was 
exhibited  in  the  palace  of  Pharaoh,  when  Joseph,  then 
the  prime  minister  of  state,  led  in  a  poor  old  shepherd  to 
the  presence  of  the  king,  and,  before  all  the  lords  of  the 
Egyptian  court,  introduced  the  decrepit  and  care-worn 
pilgrim  as  his  father.  Who,  after  looking  at  this,  will 
ever  be  ashamed  of  a  parent  because  he  is  clad  in  the  garb 
of  poverty. 


27G 


EFFECTS  OF  FILIAL  KINDNESS, 


(3.)  Kindness  operates  in  the  way  of  affording  them  all 
things  necessary  for  their  comfort. 

The  author  of  the  ^neid  has  denominated  his  hero  the 
pious  ^neas,  because  of  the  heroic  manner  in  which  he 
bore  his  decrepit  father  from  the  flames  of  Troy.  Two 
inhabitants  of  Sicily  obtained  distinction  in  ancient  story 
for  their  kindness  to  their  aged  parents  in  carrying  them 
upon  their  shoulders  from  an  eruption  of  Mount  .diltna. 
A  beautiful  instance  of  filial  piety  is  related  by  Bruce, 
concerning  a  young  man  of  highly  cultivated  mind,  who 
enlisted  as  a  reciaiit  in  the  company  of  an  English  officer, 
that  he  might  procure  the  sum  of  ten  guineas  to  release 
his  aged  and  venerable  father  from  imprisonment  for  debt. 

“  Grieve  not  thy  father  till  he  die, 

Lest,  when  he  sleeps  in  earth’s  cold  breast. 

The  record  of  his  latest  sigh 

Should  prove  a  dagger  to  thy  rest.” 

When  Epaminondas  had  won  three  battles  over  the  Lace¬ 
demonians,  the  subject  which  gave  him  the  most  pleasure 
was,  that  his  father  was  living  to  enjoy  the  news. 

(4.)  Kindness,  equally  with  gratitude,  as  before  re¬ 
marked,  will  manifest  itself  by  affectionate  attention  and 
tender  sympathy  in  their  sickness.  In  all  our  world  it  is 
difficult  to  find  a  lovelier,  holier,  sweeter  scene,  than  that 
of  a  pious  and  affectionate  daughter,  devoting  her  time, 
and  strength,  and  inventive  assiduities  to  the  comfort  of  a 
father  or  a  mother,  confined  for  years  to  the  room  and  the 
bed  of  sickness.  There  are  children,  who,  at  an  age 
w'hen  there  is  usually  a  taste  and  capacity  for  the  pleas¬ 
ures  of  society,  have  abstracted  themselves  from  all  com¬ 
pany,  to  be  the  constant  and  almost  sole  companions  of 
that  dear  sufferer,  to  alleviate  whose  sorrows  was  almost 
their  only  happiness.  In  view  of  such  examples,  let  chil¬ 
dren  aspire  to  the  character  of  being  a  ministering  angel 
to  a  father  and  a  mother. 

For  other  illustrations  of  kindness  consult  James’s  Guide 
to  Domestic  Happiness. 

A  beautiful  picture  of  filial  and  maternal  love  is  given 
by  one  of  our  finest  poets,  in  describing  his  own  feelings 
while  abroad,  in  Europe,  after  an  absence  of  four  years. 

Dear  mother!  dost  thou  love  me  yet? 

Am  I  remembered  in  my  home  ? 

When  those  I  love  for  joy  are  met. 

Does  some  one  wish  that  I  would  come  ? 


OBEDIENCE  DUE  FROM  CHILDREN. 


277 


Thou  dost — I  am  belov’d  of  these  ! 

But,  as  the  school-boy  numbers  o’er 
Night  after  night  the  Pleiades, 

•  And  finds  the  stars  he  found  before — 

As  turns  the  maiden  oft  her  token — 

As  counts  the  miser  aye  his  gold — 

So,  till  life’s  silver  cord  is  broken, 

Would  I  of  thy  fond  love  be  told. 

My  heart  is  full,  mine  eyes  are  wet — 

Dear  mother !  dost  thou  love  thy  long  lost  wanderer  yet  ? 

Willis, 

604.  It  is  the  duty  of  children  to  consult  their  'parents. 
Parents  are  our  natural  counselors  :  their  tender  relation 
to  us,  their  regard  for  our  welfare,  and  their  experience 
enforce  the  duty  of  consulting  them  on  the  subject  of 
companions,  of  books,  of  recreations,  of  trade,  and  even 
of  'marriage. 

Obedience  due  from  Children. 

605.  The  divine  command  is :  “  Children,  ohey  your 
parents.” 

(1.)  Obedience  should  begin  early  :  the  younger  a  child, 
the  more  he  needs  a  guide  and  a  ruler. 

(2.)  Obedience  should  be  universal — “  Children,  obey 
your  parents  in  all  things.”  The  only  exception  to  this, 
is,  when  their  commands  are  clearly,  in  the  letter  or  spirit 
of  them,  opposed  to  the  commands  of  God.  In  this  case, 
as  well  as  in  every  other,  'we  must  ohey  God  rather  than 
man.  Even  here,  the  refusal  to  comply  should  be  ex¬ 
pressed  in  a  meek  and  respectful  manner. 

(3.)  Obedience  should  be  prompt.  As  soon  as  the  com¬ 
mand  is  uttered,  it  should  be  complied  with.  It  is  a  dis¬ 
grace  to  any  child  that  it  should  be  necessary  for  a  father 
or  a  mother  to  repeat  a  command. 

(4.)  It  should  be  cheerful.  Constrained  and  unwilling 
obedience  is  rebellion  in  principle.  God  loveth  a  cheer¬ 
ful  giver,  and  so  doth  man.  A  child  retiring  from  a  pa¬ 
rent’s  presence  muttering,  sullen,  and  murmuring,  is  one 
of  the  ugliest  spectacles  in  creation. 

(5.)  Obedience  should  be  self-denying.  The  child,  like 
the  soldier,  should  sacrifice  his  own  predilections,  and 
perform  the  things  that  are  difficult  as  well  as  those  that 
are  easy. 

(6.)  It  should  be  uniform  ;  as  unreserved  'ivhen  parents 
are  absent,  as  'when  they  are  present.  How  sublimely  sim¬ 
ple  and  striking  was  the  reply  of  the  child,  who,  upon 


278 


MOTIVES  TO  FILIAL  PIETY. 


being  pressed  in  company  to  take  something  which  his 
absent  parents  had  forbidden  him  to  touch,  and  who,  upon 
being  reminded  that  they  were  not  there  to  witness  him, 
replied,  “Very  true,  but  God  and  my  conscience  are  here.” 

Submission  to  Faynily  Discipline. 

606.  It  requires  that  if  at  any  time  we  have  behaved 
so  as  to  render  parental  chastisement  necessary,  we  should 
take  it  patiently,  and  not  be  infuriated  by  passion,  or  ex¬ 
cited  to  resistance.  It  should  be  remembered  that  pa¬ 
rents  are  commanded  by  God  to  correct  the  faults  of  their 
children,  and  that  they  are  actuated  by  love  in  perform¬ 
ing  this  self-denying  and  painful  duty.  It  is  the  duty  of 
offending  children,  ingenuously  to  confess  their  faults,  and 
submit  to  whatever  punishment  the  authority  and  wisdom 
of  the  parent  may  appoint.  It  is  proof  both  of  strength 
of  mind  and  of  good  disposition  of  heart  to  say,  “  I  have 
done  wrong,  and  it  is  proper  I  should  bear  chastisement.” 

In  the  case  of  older  children,  when  reproof  is  neces¬ 
sary,  they  should  receive  it  with  submission,  and  not  with 
indifference  or  sullen  contempt,  nor  make  any  insolent  re¬ 
plies.  The  conduct  of  some  children  after  reproof^  is  a 
deeper  wound  on  the  heart  of  a  parent,  than  that  which 
preceded  and  deserved  the  reproof. 

Motives  to  the  Performance  of  Filial  Duties. 

607.  Perhaps  there  are  few  branches  of  moral  obliga¬ 
tion  more  frequently  alluded  to,  or  more  variously  en¬ 
joined  in  sacred  scripture  than  that  of  filial  piety. 

(1.)  The  lives  of  the  Hebrew  patriarchs  from  the  be¬ 
ginning  of  the  world,  are  so  drawn  up  as  to  exhibit  and 
recommend  this  virtue. 

(2.)  It  is  commanded,  as  we  have  seen,  in  one  of  the 
precepts  of  the  moral  law.  By  the  national  Mosaic  law, 
stubboim  disobedience  to  parental  authority  was  punished 
with  death. 

(3.)  The  Book  of  Proverbs  contains  almost  innumera¬ 
ble  apothegms  on  this  subject. 

(4.)  The  prophets  frequently  allude  to  it;  and  Jere¬ 
miah,  in  the  history  of  the  Rechabites,  has  preserved  a 
very  extraordinary  instance  of  hereditary  filial  obedience 
for  three  hundred  years  when  the  instance  was  recorded  ; 
an  account  is  also  given  of  its  acceptableness  to  God. 


MOTIVES  TO  FILIAL  PIETY. 


279 


(5.)  In  the  New  Testament  filial  obedience  is  em¬ 
bodied  in  the  example  of  Christ,  of  whom  it  is  said, 
“  Jesus  went  down  and  was  subject  to  his  parents.”  That 
wonderful  personage,  God  manifest  in  the  flesh,  was  sub¬ 
ject,  we  have  reason  to  believe,  till,  at  the  age  of  thirty, 
he  entered  upon  his  public  ministry ;  and  those  parents, 
it  should  be  remembered,  were  a  poor,  but  pious  couple, 
who  earned  their  daily  bread  by  the  sweat  of  their  brow. 
Upon  the  cross,  amid  his  dying  agonies,  filial  piety  shone 
forth  in  commending  his  weeping  mother  to  the  care  of 
a  disciple. 

(6.)  The  apostles  enforced  the  duty  by  various  com¬ 
mendations.  “Children  obey  your  parents,  yhr  this  Js 
right,''  a  thing  not  obligatory  merely  because  it  is  com¬ 
manded,  but  commanded  because  it  is  right ;  a  duty  so 
ob%'ious  even  to  reason  that  all  nations,  ancient  and  mod¬ 
ern,  civilized  and  savage,  admit  its  obligation.  It  is  also 
said  to  be  “  well  pleasing  unto  the  Lord." 

(7.)  The  comfort  of  parents  is  another  motive.  The 
earthly  happiness  of  a  father  and  a  mother  depends  far 
more  upon  the  conduct  of  their  children  than  upon  any¬ 
thing  else. 

And  now,  farewell !  ’Tis  hard  to  give  thee  up. 

With  death  so  like  a  gentle  slumber  on  thee  ; — 

And  thy  dark  sin  !  Oh  !  I  eould  drink  the  cup. 

If  from  this  woe  its  bitterness  had  won  thee. 

May  God  have  called  thee,  like  a  wanderer,  home. 

My  lost  boy  Absalom  !  Willis. 

(8.)  The  obligations  of  gratitude  require  filial  piety. 
Children  are  ever  contracting  obligations  from  the  first 
moment  of  their  existence,  for  parental  care  and  labor  in 
helpless  infancy  and  childhood,  for  education,  and  com¬ 
petence,  and  perhaps  also,  for  religious  culture. 

(9.)  Interest  supports  the  duty  of  filial  obedience.  An 
undutiful  child  cannot  be  a  happy  one — while  to  the  duti¬ 
ful  child  is  given  in  the  law  the  promise  of  long  life,  and 
the  same  promise  is  repeated  by  an  apostle  in  the  New 
Testament,  which  implies  that,  to  a  certain  extent,  the 
promise  is  still  in  force.  The  late  Dr.  Dwight  remarks  : 
“  In  conversing  with  the  plain  people  of  this  country,  dis¬ 
tinguished  for  their  good  sense  and  careful  observation 
of  facts,  I  have  found  them,  to  a  great  extent,  firmly  per¬ 
suaded  of  the  verification  of  this  promise  in  our  own  times. 
Their  opinion  is  mine,  and  with  their  observation  my  own 


280 


PARENTAL  DUTIES. 


has  coincided.”  To  these  may  be  added  the  remarks  of 
Professor  Bush  :  “  Even  at  the  present  day,  it  can  scarcely 
be  doubted  that,  as  a  general fact,  those  who  are  exemplary 
in  the  discharge  of  filial  duties  become  the  objects  of  a 
•specially  rewarding  providence,  in  the  longer  enjoyment  of 
life,  and  of.those  temporal  blessings  which  mahe  it  desira¬ 
ble.  On  the  other  hand,  what  close  observer  of  the  retri¬ 
butive  dealings  of  God  can  question,  that  in  multitudes 
of  cases  the  untimely  deaths  of  the  young  have  been  the 
judicial  consequences  of  disobedience  to  their  parents  ! 
In  how  many  instances  has  the  confession  been  extorted 
from  convicted  felons,  that  the  first  step  in  their  downward 
career  was  despising  the  commands  of  parents,  and  the 
next  the  breach  of  the  holy  Sabbath,” 

(10.)  It  may  be  added,  that  an  eminently  dutiful  child 
is  an  object  of  delight,  admiration,  and  esteem,  to  all  who 
have  an  opportunity  of  witnessing  his  conduct;  he  goes 
through  society,  surrounded  by  a  glory  purer  than  that 
of  fame,  and  far  more  conducive  to  his  own  comfort. 

608.  They  owe  to  each  other  ardent,  mutual  love  ;  be¬ 
side  this,  the  younger  are  bound  to  entertain  a  kind 
deference  to  the  elder  children  as  their  superiors  in  age, 
and  generally  in  various  attainments;  while  it  is  the  duty 
of  the  elder  to  treat  the  younger  members  of  the  family 
with  a  mild  and  indulgent  care  for  their  improvement 
and  happiness,  presenting  before  them  at  all  times  an 
example  pi'oper  and  safe  to  be  imitated,  since  the  exam¬ 
ple  of  elder  persons  in  a  family  is  generally  imitated  by 
the  younger. 

Ill,  Duties  of  Parents  to  their  Children. 

The  duties  of  children  to  their  parents  draw  along 
with  them  the  duties  of  parents  to  their  children.  There 
is  required  a  reciprocity  of  good  offices. 

General  View  of  Parental  Duties. 

609.  Parents  are  bound  to  take  care  of  their  children 
in  early  life  ;  to  provide  food  and  clothing  for  them  ;  to 
give  them  an  education  which  will  prepare  them  both  for 
this  world  and  for  the  next;  to  watch  over  their  morals, 
encourage  them  in  that  which  is  good,  and  restrain  them 
from  evil ;  to  exercise  authority,  reasonably  and  mildly, 
but  firmly ;  to  endeavor  to  settle  them  in  life ;  to  admin- 


PARENTAL  DUTIES. 


281 


ister  to  them  the  counsels  of  experience  ;  and,  in  a  word, 
to  consider  them  as  a  trust  from  God,  which  they  ought 
to  manage  with  incessant  vimlance. 

A  parent  who  neglects  his  duty  to  his  offspring,  ought 
not  to  be  surprised  if  they  fail  in  their  duty  to  him,  and 
has  no  right  to  complain  either  to  God  or  man. 

As  another  incentive  to  parental  fidelity,  it  may  be 
stated  that  many  of  the  evils  and  miseries  of  society 
would  vanish  before  a  right  performance  of  parental 
duties. 

610.  (1.)  Parents  must  have  a  coiTect  view  of  the  nature 
and  design  of  the  domestic  constitution,  and  must  keep 
it  ever  before  their  mind,  that  its  great  design  is  to  form 
well  the  character  of  the  children  ;  to  assist  the  child,  as  a 
mortal,  to  go  with  honor  and  comfort  through  this  life, 
and  as  an  immortal,  to  reach  life  everlasting. 

(2.)  Parents  should  realize  the  fact,  that  on  them  it  de¬ 
pends,  in  a  great  measure,  what  their  children  are  to  be — 
miserable  or  happy  in  themselves — a  comfort,  or  a  curse, 
to  their  connections ;  an  ornament  or  a  deformity  to 
society,  a  fiend,  or  a  seraph  in  eternity. 

(3.)  Parents  should  earnestly  seek  after  the  possession 
of  all  possible  qualifications  for  their  ofice.  These  quali¬ 
fications  are  the  following  :  personal  religion  ;  the  entire 
government  of  temper  ;  a  habit  of  self-control ;  a  meekness 
not  to  be  disturbed  by  the  greatest  provocation ;  a  patience 
not  to  be  wearied  by  long  continued  opposition ;  a  hahit 
of  discrimination  with  regard  to  conduct  and  its  motives, 
and  also  with  regard  to  the  dispositions  of  children,  and 
the  mode  of  treatment  they  require  ;  a  kindness  of  man¬ 
ner,  rendering  them  agreeable  to  their  children  ;  priidence 
and  good  sense  ;  firmness,  in  denying  improper  requests, 
or  administering  suitable  correction ;  varied  information 
and  extensive  knowledge,  qualifying  them  to  direct  the 
studies,  to  answer  the  inquiries,  to  correct  the  mistakes, 
to  assist  the  pursuits,  and,  in  short,  to  superintend  the 
general  instruction  of  their  families ;  unvarying  and  in- 
f'exible  consistency  of  excellence. 

(4.)  Parents  should  make  religion  the  chief  desire  and 
the  highest  object  of  pursuit,  as  a  possession  for  their 
children. 


282 


PARENTAL  DUTIES. 


Various  Branch&s  of  Parental  Duty. 

611.  (a.)  Some  relate  more  directly  to  the  present  life, 
and  the  formation  of  the  character  generally. 

612.  (1.)  Maintenance  is,  of  course,  a  claim  which  every 
child  justly  possesses  upon  his  parents,  till  he  is  of  a  sufh- 
cient  age  to  be  able  to  provide  for  himself.  The  wants 
of  children  make  it  necessary  that  some  person  maintain 
them  :  and  as  no  one  has  a  right  to  burden  others  by  his 
act,  it  follows  that  the  parents  are  bound  to  undertake 
this  charge  themselves. 

Hence  we  learn  the  guilt  of  those  who  run  away  from 
their  families,  or  (what  is  much  the  same),  in  consequence 
of  idleness  or  drunkenness,  throw  them  upon  public 
charity ;  or  who  leave  them  destitute  at  death,  when,  by 
diligence  and  frugality,  they  might  have  laid  up  a  provision 
for  their  support. 

(2.)  Scholastic  Instruction. 

613.  This  is  another  duty  that  parents  owe  their 
children.  No  man,  with  all  the  advantages  of  educa¬ 
tion  universally  piovided  by  the  state,  and  by  private 
liberality,  should  suffer  his  family  to  be,  in  this  respect, 
behind  the  enlightened  age  in  which  they  live.  To 
grudge  the  money  spent  in  this  way,  is  a  cruel  and  de¬ 
testable  niggardliness.  A  good  education  is  a  portion, 
the  only  one  which  some  are  able  to  give  their  children, 
and  which,  in  many  cases,  has  led  to  every  other  kind  of 
wealth. 

614.  The  judicious  selection  of  a  school  is  a  matter  of 
indescribable  importance.  Parents  should  be  guided  in 
their  choice,  not  by  a  mere  regard  to  intellectual  or 
ornamental  accomplishments,  but  wherever  real  piety  is 
inculcated,  a  thirst  for  knowledge  excited,  and  habits  of 
application,  reflection,  sobriety  of  judgment,  and  good 
sense  are  formed,  that  is  the  school  to  be  selected  by  a 
wise  and  Christian  parent. 

615.  Education,  properly  understood,  is  not  so  much 
the  communication  of  knowledge,  as  the  formation  of 
character.  A  youth  may  have  his  head  stuffed  full  of 
Latin  and  Greek,  of  mathematics,  and  natural  philoso¬ 
phy  ;  a  girl  may  draw,  and  dance,  and  play,  and  speak 
French,  exquisitely,  and  yet  be  miserably  educated,  after 


PARENTAL  DUTIES. - EDUCATION. 


283 


all.  Integrity,  good  sense,  generosity,  and  a  capacity  for 
reflection,  are  worth  all  the  acquirements  which  even  a 
university  can  bestow.  These,  however,  are  not  incom¬ 
patible  with  each  other :  the  perfection  of  education  is 
the  union  of  both. 

(3.)  Due  Regard  to  the  Health  of  Children. 

616.  A  due  regard  to  the  health  of  children  should  be 
maintained.  Physical  education  is  of  no  small  import¬ 
ance.  Knowledge  gained  at  the  expense  of  health  is 
purchased  at  a  fearful,  expense. 

There  are  other  ways  of  injuring  the  health  beside 
that  of  a  too  close  application  to  learning ;  among  these 
is  the  habit  of  pampering  the  appetites  of  children, 
making  the  gratification  of  appetite  too  prominent  an 
object,  and  especially  when  resorting  to  it  as  a  reward  of 
good  conduct — a  practice  which  not  only  corrupts  health, 
but  morals,  and  brings  up  children  to  be  governed  by  ap¬ 
petite  rather  than  by  reason,  which  is,  in  fact,  the  secret 
cause  of  all  the  intemperance  and  profligacy  of  the  world, 

617.  (4.)  Parents  should  instruct  their  children  to  form 
low  notions  of  the  importance  of  riches  and  worldly  show, 
and  of  the  poiver  which  these  things  have  either  to  give  re¬ 
spectability  to  the  character,  or  to  procure  happiness. 

Children  should  not  hear  their  parents  magnify  the 
value  of  wealth  by  words,  nor  see  them  do  it  by  actions. 
No  undue  solicitude  should  be  shown  about  grandeur  of 
abode  or  furniture.  Children  should  early  learn  from 
their  parents,  that  it  is  character  that  constitutes  true 
RESPECTABILITY ;  that  a  good  man  is  reputable  in  any  cir¬ 
cumstances,  a  bad  man  in  none.  They  should  also  be  en¬ 
couraged  to  consider,  and  seek,  and  use  wealth,  rather  as  a 
means  of  usefulness,  than  a  source  of  personal  gratification, 

618.  (5.)  It  is  the  duty  of  parents  to  lead  their  chil¬ 
dren  to  the  formation  of  industrious  habits ;  to  caution 
them  against  sauntering  and  slothfulness ;  to  impress 
them  with  the  value  of  time,  showing  that  it  is  the  stuff 
of  which  life  is  made,  and  that  we  lose  as  much  of  life  as 
we  do  of  time.  Habits  of  order  and  punctuality  should 
also  be  enforced. 

619.  (6.)  Economy  is  no  less  necessary.  Industry  and 
economy  belong,  not  to  savage,  but  to  civilized  life. 
When  teaching  economy,  parents  must  be  careful,  how- 


284 


PARENTAL  DUTIES. - EDUCATION. 


ever,  not  to  drive  the  mind  into  covetousness.  With  all 
their  endeavors  to  cherish  frugality,  they  should  be  no 
less  assiduous  to  encourage  generosity ;  and  to  impress 
their  children  with  the  idea,  that  the  end  of  saving  is  not 
to  hoard,  but  to  provide  for  our  own  wants,  and  to  dis¬ 
tribute  to  the  wants  of  others. 

620.  (7.)  Children  should  he  provided  with  suitable  em¬ 
ployment.  It  is  our  happiness  to  live  in  a  country  where 
trade  and  industry  are  accounted  honorable. 

621.  (8.)  Generosity  should  be  most  assiduously  in¬ 
culcated,  and  thus  the  selfishness  of  our  nature  be  coun¬ 
teracted. 

Let  children  be  early  taught  that  the  highest  enjoy¬ 
ment  arises  not  from  individual  gratification,  but  from  a 
communion  in  pleasui'e.  They  should  hear  much  of  the 
happiness  arising  from  gratifying  others,  of  the  luxury 
and  beauty  of  benevolence,  and  of  the  meanness  of  greed¬ 
iness.  They  should  be  sent  on  eirands  of  mercy  to  the 
poor  and  needy,  that,  being  spectators  both  of  their  mis¬ 
ery,  and  of  their  tears  of  gi'atitude  for  relief,  they  may 
acquire  a  disposition  to  do  good.  They  should  be  en¬ 
couraged  to  practice  self-denial  to  have  the  means  of 
beneficence,  but  no  compulsory  benevolent  action  should 
be  attempted,  as  this  course  would  tend  to  disgust  them 
with  it. 

622.  (9.)  Prudence  is  of  vast  consequence  in  the  affairs 
of  life.  This  is,  next  to  piety,  the  most  valuable  quality  of 
character.  Half  the  misery  of  some  persons’  lives,  who 
are  good  people  too,  arises  from  a  rash,  tlioughtless,  in¬ 
discreet  mind.  Hence  children  should  be  led  to  cultivate 
a  deliberative,  reflecting  judgment ;  to  weigh  their  words, 
and  measure  their  actions ;  to  form  the  habit  of  looking 
forward  to  the  tendency  and  result  of  conduct ;  to  ob¬ 
serve  a  suitable  decorum  in  words,  and  thoughts,  and 
actions.  They  are  to  be  taught  that  this  wisdom  is  far 
above  learning,  genius,  taste,  accomplishments. 

623.  (10.)  Regard  should  be  had  by  parents  to  the 
EDUCATION  OF  CIRCUMSTANCES.  The  Sentiments  they 
drop  occasionally,  the  conversation  overheard  by  cbildren 
when  playing  in  the  corner  of  the  room,  the  maxims  that 
govern  the  conduct  of  parents,  their  example,  the  likings 
and  dislikings  they  express — these  educate  children,  more 
than  schools  do.  The  society  that  parents  live  in — their 


PARENTAL  DUTIES. - EDUCATION. 


285 


house,  table,  daily  behavior,  domestics — these  educate  a 
child.  This  education  of  circumstances  begins  as  soon  as 
children  are  capable  of  receiving  or  forming  an  idea ;  it 
goes  on  every  instant  of  wakeful  existence  ;  and  the  char¬ 
acter  of  children  will  be  affected  materially  according  to 
the  tendency  of  these  circumstances. 

624.  (ll*)  While  maternal  inffuence  is  great,  and  es¬ 
sential,  no  father  should  imagine  that  he  can  escape  from 
obligation  to  bring  all  the  weight  of  his  own  careful  in¬ 
structions  and  correct  example,  to  assist  those  of  the 
mother  in  the  education  of  a  family.  Though  teachers 
be  employed,  in  the  education  of  children,  yet  such  is 
the  inevitable  influence  of  jjarents,  that  these  are,  in  a  most 
important  sense,  the  educators  of  their  offspring,  except 
when  separated  from  them.  The  first  book  and  the 
most  important  that  children  read,  is  that  of  \\\q\x  parents' 
example  and  daily  deportment  ;  and  parents  should  ponder 
carefully  what  they  write  in  this  domestic  book. 

(6.)  Duties  which  Parents  owe  their  Children,,  in  reference  to 
their  Religious  Character,  and  Future  Welfare. 

625.  (1.)  Instruction.  As  soon  as  reason  dawns  in 
the  child,  instruction  should  commence  in  the  fundamental 
parts  of  revealed  truth,  and  be  conducted  with  reference  to 
the  capacity  of  the  child.  The  basis  of  instruction  should 
be  the  Bible,  and  oral  explanations  should  be  added.  At 
a  certain  age,  judicious  catechisms  may  be  employed  to 
advantage,  in  connection  with  the  Bible. 

Thehcall  and  Coleridge. 

626.  Thelwall  thought  it  very  unfair  to  influence  a  child’s 
mind  by  inculcating  any  opinions  before  it  should  come 
to  years  of  discretion,  and  be  able  to  choose  for  itself. 
“  I  showed  him  my  garden,”  says  Coleridge,  “  and  told 
him  it  was  my  botanical  garden.”  “  How  so,”  said  he, 
“  for  it  is  covered  with  weeds.”  “  Oh  !”  I  replied,  “  that 
is  because  it  has  not  come  to  its  age  of  discretion  and 
choice.  The  weeds,  you  see,  have  taken  the  liberty  to 
grow,  and  I  thought  it  unfair  in  me  to  prejudice  the  soil 
toward  roses  and  strawberries.” 

Instruction  must  be  conveyed  in  a  pleasing,  and  not 
compulsory  and  forbidding  form.  Children  should  not  be 
wearied  with  long  lectures,  nor  disgusted  with  long  tasks. 


286 


PARENTAL  DUTIES. - DISCIPLINE. 


Never  should  religious  tasks  be  presciibed  as  penalties 
for  bad  conduct. 

Instruction  must  always  be  d.G\\\eredi  with  great  serious¬ 
ness.  It  ought  not  to  be  exclusively  confined  to  the  Sab¬ 
bath,  but  be  the  business  of  every  day  ;  yet  it  should  be 
especially  attended  to  on  the  day  of  rest  from  worldly 
pursuits. 

627.  (2.)  Persuasion,  Admonition,  and  Warning, 
are  a  very  important  part  of  religious  education. 

628.  (3.)  Discipline  is  an  important  parental  duty. 
By  discipline,  is  meant,  the  maintenance  of  parental  au¬ 
thority,  and  the  exercise  of  it,  in  the  way  of  restraining 
and  punishing  offenses.  Parents  are  appointed  by  God 
to  rule,  to  be  the  sovereigns  of  the  house,  allowing  no 
interference  from  without,  no  resistance  from  within. 
Their  government  must  be  firm,  but  mild :  the  love  of 
the  parent  must  not  relax  the  reins  of  the  governor,  nor 
the  authority  of  the  governor  diminish  the  love  of  the 
parent. 

The  first  thing  a  child  should  be  made  to  understand, 
is,  that  he  is  to  do,  not  what  he  likes,  but  what  he  is  com¬ 
manded  ;  that  he  is  not  to  govern,  hut  to  he  governed.  He 
must  be  made  to  submit  while  young,  and  then  submis¬ 
sion  will  become  a  habit. 

All  commands,  however,  should  be  reasonable.  Nothing 
but  what  is  wise  should  be  enjoined,  and  every  injunc¬ 
tion  that  is  issued  should  be  obeyed  ;  if  not,  punishment 
should  follow. 

629.  Correction  is  an  essential  part  of  discipline  ;  for  re¬ 
wards  and  punishments  are  as  necessary  in  the  govern¬ 
ment  of  a  family,  as  in  that  of  a  state.  Correction  is 
enjoined  in  the  Scriptures  as  a  needful  duty.  “  He  that 
spareth  the  rod,”  saith  Solomon,  “  hateth  his  son.” 

Yet  a  stern  and  rigid  severity  is  not  a  duty.  The  first 
object  of  every  parent  should  be,  to  render  punishment 
unnecessary.  It  is  better  to  prevent  crimes  than  to  punish 
them.  This  can  be  done  to  a  great  extent,  but  it  rec|uires 
a  very  early,  very  judicious,  and  very  watchful  system  of 
training.  If  this  be  neglected,  severity  often  becomes 
necessary. 

630.  Corporeal  punishment,  though  occasionally  it  may 
be  necessary,  is  not  good  as  a  system.  To  render  it  in  a 
good  degree  unnecessary,  children  should,  from  the  dawn 


RULES  OF  DISCIPLINE. 


287 


of  reason,  be  made  to  feel  that  parental  favor  is  their 
richest  reward  for  good  conduct,  and  parental  displeasure 
the  severest  rebuke  for  misbehavior.  Happy  the  parent 
who  has  attained  to  such  skill  in  government,  as  to  guide 
with  a  look,  to  reward  with  a  smile,  and  to  punish  with  a 
frown. 

631.  When  severe  chastisement  becomes  necessary, 
the  following  Rules  should  be  observed :  never  chastise 
in  a  state  of  anger ;  patiently  examine  the  offense  before 
you  punish  it ;  accurately  discriminate  between  sins  of 
presumption,  and  sins  of  ignorance  or  inadvertence ;  ac¬ 
cidents  should  not  be  punished,  unless  they  involve  willful 
disobedience  ;  apportion  the  sentence  to  the  degree  of 
offense  and  the  disposition  of  the  offender;  ingenuous 
confession  and  sincere  penitence  should,  in  most  cases, 
arrest  the  process  of  judgment,  and  the  child  be  made  to 
punish  himself  by  remorse:  till  repentance  is  produced, 
scarcely  anything  is  gained  by  chastisement;  instruments 
of  punishment  should  not  be’ kept  perpetually  in  sight, 
for  this  is  to  govern  by  fear,  and  not  by  love  ;  be  very 
cautious  not  to  threaten  what  you  either  do  not  intend, 
or  are  not  able  to  inflict ;  and  forbear  threatening  as 
much  as  possible  :  in  the  case  of  older  children,  the 
greatest  caution  is  necessary  in  expressing  a  parent’s 
displeasure :  reasonable  expostulation,  tender  reproof, 
appeals  to  their  understanding,  feelings,  and  conscience, 
are  all  that  can  be  allowed  in  this  instance.  Coi’poreal 
correction  can  do  good  only  before  the  understanding  can 
argue  upon  the  heinousness  of  the  offense ;  or  after  it 
appears  that  the  young  offender  will  not  regard  rational 
methods  of  chastisement,  or  appeals  to  the  higher  powers. 

632.  Parents  should  he  very  careful  not  to  foster,  hy 
injudicious  treatment,  those  very  'propensities  'which,  xohen 
7nore  fully  developed,  they  will  find  it  necessary  to  repress 
by  discipline.  Lying  and  ill-nature  are  encouraged  by 
smiling  at  a  false  or  malignant  expression,  because  it  is 
cleverly  said.  Pride  is  nourished  by  excessive  flattery 
and  commendation ;  vanity,  by  loading  them  with  finery, 
and  both  admiring  them  and  teaching  them  to  admire 
themselves ;  revenge,  by  directing  them  to  vent  their  im¬ 
potent  anger  upon  the  persons  or  things  that  have  injured 
them ;  insolence  and  oppression,  by  allowing  them  to  be 
rude  to  servants. 


288 


DOMESTIC  DISCIPLINE. 


Discipline,  to  be  effectual,  should  be  steady  and  'un¬ 
varying,  not  fitful  and  capricious  ;  it  must  be  a  system 
which,  like  the  atmosphere,  shall  press  always  and  every¬ 
where  upon  its  subjects. 

Both  parents  should  join  to  support  domestic  authority. 

Robert  HalVs  Reproof. 

633.  Once,  says  Dr.  Gregory,  when  Mr.  Hall  was  spend¬ 
ing  an  evening  at  the  house  of  a  friend,  a  lady,  who  was 
there  on  a  visit,  retired,  that  her  little  girl,  of  four  years 
old,  might  go  to  bed.  She  returned  in  about  half  an  hour, 
and  said  to  a  lady  near  her,  “  She  is  gone  to  sleep ;  I  put 
on  my  night-cap  and  lay  down  by  her,  and  she  soon 
dropped  off.”  Mr.  Hall,  who  overheard  this,  said,  “  Ex¬ 
cuse  me,  madam  :  do  you  wish  your  child  to  grow  up  a 
liar  V’  “  Oh  dear  no,  sir ;  I  should  be  shocked  at  such  a 
thing.”  “  Then  bear  with  me  while  I  say,  you  must 
never  act  a  lie  before  her  :  children  are  very  quick  ob¬ 
servers,  and  soon  learn  that  that  which  assumes  to  be 
what  it  is  not,  is  a  lie,  whether  acted  or  spoken.” 

634.  (4.)  Example  is  necessary  to  give  power  and  in¬ 
fluence  to  all  other  means.  In  alluring  children  to  re¬ 
ligion,  parents  must  be  able  to  say,  “  Follow  me.”  To 
exert  a  suitable  influence,  the  religion  of  parents  must  be 
eminent,  and  consistent  with  their  profession,  in  all  their 
spirit  and  behavior,  for  children  have  their  eyes  always 
upon  their  parents,  and  are  quick  to  discern  any  viola¬ 
tions  of  consistency.  Parents  must  not  tell  them  that 
religion  is  the  first  thing,  and  yet  educate  them  for  the 
world. 

635.  (5.)  Diligent,  constant,  and  careful  inspec¬ 
tion,  is  a  most  important  parental  duty.  They  must 
never  allow  any  engagements  whatever  to  take  off,  long 
together,  their  eyes  from  their  children.  They  must 
study  the  development  of  their  character  under  all  cir¬ 
cumstances  in  which  they  have  an  opportunity  to  view 
them,  that  they  may  learn  what  treatment  to  adopt  with 
reference  to  each. 

Parents  should  also  inspect  their  family,  to  know  what 
good  or  evil  is  going  on  among  its  members. 

Inspection  must  extend  to  everything ;  to  the  servants 
that  are  admitted  into  the  house,  for  how  much  injury 
may  be  done  to  the  youthful  mind  by  an  unprincipled 


RELIGIOUS  DUTIES  OF  PARENTS. 


289 


and  artful  servant.  The  com^^anions  of  children  should 
be  most  narrowly  watched  :  one  bad  associate  may  ruin 
them  forevei'.  The  reading  of  children  should  be  care- 
fully  insjjected ;  and  all  corrupting  books,  and  news¬ 
papers,  and  indecent  pictures,  kept  out  of  their  way. 
The  recreations  of  children  should  be  watched,  and  no 
games  allowed  that  are  immodest  or  likely  to  lead  to 
gambling. 

636.  (6.)  Prayer  must  crown  all  other  efforts ;  for 
who,  except  God,  can  subdue  the  tempers  or  change  the 
hearts  of  children  1 

Beside  daily  private  prayer,  there  should  be  Family 

Prayer. 

This  should  be  offered  regularly  and  constantly,  morn¬ 
ing  and  evening,  each  day  of  the  week,  at  an  hour  best 
adapted  to  the  exercise. 

The  morning  or  evening  hymn  of  a  pious  family  is  one 
of  the  most  touching  sounds  in  our  world. 

The  prayer  should  be  neither  so  long  as  to  weary,  nor 
so  short  as  to  seem  like  a  mere  form.  It  should  be 
fervent,  and  chiefly  relate  to  the  circumstances  of  the 
family. 

Seest  thou  yon  lonely  cottage  in  the  grove. 

With  little  garden  neatly  planned  before, 

Its  roof  deep-shaded  by  the  elms  above, 

Moss-grown,  and  decked  with  velvet  verdure  o’er  ? 

Go  lift  the  willing  latch — the  scene  explore — 

Sweet  peace,  and  love,  and  joy,  thou  there  shalt  find ; 

For  there  Religion  dwells  :  whose  sacred  lore 
Leaves  the  proud  wisdom  of  the  world  behind. 

And  pours  a  heavenly  ray  on  every  humble  mind. 
****** 

Nor  yet  in  solitude  his  prayers  ascend  ; 

His  faithful  partner  and  their  blooming  train. 

The  precious  word,  with  reverent  minds,  attend. 

The  heaven-directed  path  of  life  to  gain. 

Their  voices  mingle  in  the  grateful  strain — 

The  lay  of  love  and  joy  together  sing. 

To  Him  whose  bounty  clothes  the  smiling  plain. 

Who  spreads  the  beauties  of  the  blooming  spring. 

And  tunes  the  warbling  throats  that  make  the  valley  ring 

Huntington. 


Earl  Roden. 

63'7.  Dr.  Sprague,  in  bis  Letters  from  Europe,  gives 
the  following  anecdote  of  this  gentleman,  finely  illustra¬ 
tive  of  the  subject  just  presented  : — “  When  George  IV. 
was  in  Ireland,  he  told  Lord  Roden  that,  on  a  particular 

N 


290  DUTIES  OF  INSTRUCTORS  AND  SCHOLARS. 


morning, 


he  was  coming  to  breakfast  with  him.  Pie 
accordingly  came,  and,  bringing  with  him  two  or  three  of 
the  nobility,  happened  to  arrive  just  as  his  lordship  and 
family  had  assembled  for  domestic  worship.  Lord  Roden, 
being  told  his  guest  had  arrived,  went  to  the  door  and 
met  him  with  every  expression  of  respect,  and  seated 
him  and  the  gentlemen  that  accompanied  him  in  his 
parlor.  Pie  then  turned  to  the  king  and  said,  ‘  Your 
majesty  will  not  doubt  that  I  feel  highly  honored  by  this 
visit;  but  there  is  a  duty  which  I  have  not  yet  discharged 
this  morning  to  the  King  of  kings — that  of  perfonning 
domestic  worship  ;  and  your  majesty  will  be  kind  enough 
to  excuse  me  while  I  retire  with  my  household  and  attend 
to  it.’  ‘  Certainly,’  replied  the  king,  ‘  but  I  am  going 
with  you,’  and  he  immediately  rose  and  followed  him 
into  the  hall  where  the  family  were  assembled;  and, 
taking  his  station  in  an  old  arm-chair,  remained  during 
the  family  devotions.” 

This  anecdote  reflects  honor  upon  his  lordship  and  the 
king ;  while  it  exhibits  in  the  one  the  dignity  of  unyield¬ 
ing  Christian  principles,  it  displays  in  the  other  the 
courtesy  of  a  gentleman,  and  the  regard  felt  for  a  con¬ 
sistent  religious  character. 

In  view  of  the  duties  of  parents,  although  so  imper¬ 
fectly  delineated,  John  A.  James  very  justly  remarks: 
“  It  is  enough  to  make  a  parent  tremble,  to  think  what  a 
parent  should  be.” 

The  sketch  we  have  furnished  of  filial  and  parental 
duty  is  condensed  from  the  admirable  volume  of  Rev. 
J.  A.  James,  entitled  the  Guide  to  Domestic  Happiness; 
fi’om  which  also  we  shall  derive  illustrations  of  some 
other  relative  duties. 

The  duties  of  hushands  and  wives  are  comprehended 
among  the  relative  duties ;  but  it  will  be  more  regular  to 
consider  them  under  the  Seventh  Commandment,  which, 
according  to  the  rules  of  interpretation  formerly  laid 
down,  by  forbidding  the  violation  of  the  marriage  vow, 
inculcates  the  duties  arising  from  the  conjugal  relation. 


IV.  Duties  of  Instructors  and  Scholars, 

638.  The  duties  of  instructors  and  scholars  are  very 
similar  to  those  of  parents  and  children  ;  for  Instructors 
are  to  be  regarded,  when  engaged  with  their  scholars,  as 


DUTIES  OP  INSTRUCTORS  AND  SCHOLARS.  291 

occupying  the  place  of  parents,  and  employed  to  assist 
them  in  the  great  work  of  educating  children  for  the 
duties  and  responsibilities  of  life. 

639.  The  prominent  objects  falling  within  the  sphere 
of  an  instructor’s  duty,  are  the  physical,  intellectual,  and 
moi'al  improvement  of  those  committed  to  his  care. 

640.  There  are  certain  peculiar  duties  which  he  owes 
to  himself  He  is  bound  daily  to  cultivate  and  furnish 
his  own  mind  ;  to  regulate  his  own  personal  habits  and 
manners,  so  that  he  may  render  himself  more  fully  com¬ 
petent  to  educate  his  pupils  by  example,  as  well  as  by 
direct  instruction. 

641.  In  regard  to  the  duty  which  he  owes  his  scholars, 
be  is  to  consult  and  promote  their  bodily  health;  he  is 
to  learn  and  practice  the  most  approved  and  successful 
methods  of  communicating  knowledge ;  he  is  to  aim  at 
giving  strength  and  development  to  their  minds ;  he  is  to 
assist  them  in  forming  correct  habits  of  thought,  and  feel¬ 
ing,  and  action;  he  is  to  adapt  his  instructions  and  in¬ 
fluence  to  the  end  of  preparing  them  for  the  business  of 
life  ;  and  he  should  ever  bear  in  mind,  that  there  is  a  far 
more  important  life  than  the  present,  for  which  he  may 
and  should  assist  in  preparing  them.  He  should  also 
keep  in  view  the  fact  that — 

The  mind,  impressible  and  soft,  with  ease 
Imbibes  and  copies  what  she  hears  and  sees. 

And  through  life’s  labyrinth  holds  fast  the  clue 

That  education  gives  her,  false  or  true.  Cowper. 

Duties  of  Pupils  to  their  Instructors. 

642.  It  is,  in  general,  the  duty  of  the  pupil  to  endeavor 
to  acquire  that  education  of  mind  and  body,  of  feelings, 
habits,  and  attainments,  which  it  is  the  office  of  the  in¬ 
structor  to  impart. 

Hence  it  is  the  duty  of  the  pupil  to  treat  instructors 
with  respect  and  reverence ;  to  comply  promptly  and 
cheerfully  with  their  reasonable  suggestions,  regulations, 
and  commands ;  to  strive  to  learn  the  lessons  assigned, 
to  form  the  habits  and  manners  proper  to  be  cultivated, 
and  to  lay  aside  all  those  which  are  vulgar,  immoral,  or 
injurious. 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  student  to  conduct  in  such  a 
manner  each  day  as  to  be  entitled  to  the  approbation  of 


292 


DUTIES  OF  EMPLOYERS. 


parents  and  teachers;  also  to  cultivate  a  love  of  knowledge 
and  of  truth ;  to  avoid  acts  of  injustice,  unkindness,  and 
mischief;  to  cultivate  noble  and  generous  affections  and 
conduct  toward  fellow-students ;  and  to  prepare  for  the 
business  and  duties  of  life. 

V.  Duties  of  Masters  or  Employers  to  their  Family  Servants. 

“  Masters,  give  unto  your  servants  that  which  is  just  and  equal." — Col.  iv.  1. 

Of  all  the  domestic  connections,  that  between  master 
and  servant  is  perhaps  least  understood,  or,  at  any  rate, 
most  neglected.  It  spiings  from  varied  degrees  of  men’s 
acquired  property :  from  the  love  of  ease  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  urgency  of  necessity  on  the  other.  It  is 
important  to  guard  the  master  against  the  disobedience 
and  dishonesty  of  the  servant  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
servant  against  the  oppression  and  cruelty  of  the  master. 


Preliminary  Remarks. 

643.  (1.)  Great  care  should  be  employed  in  the  selection 
of  servants.  Other  qualifications  being  equal,  pious  ser¬ 
vants  are  much  to  be  preferred.  In  a  cii'cle  of  young 
children,  one  unprincipled  ser’vant  may  be  the  author  of 
incalculable  mischief. 

(2.^  When  a  servant  is  engaged,  there  should  be  a 
very  explicit  statement  of  icliat  each  party  expects  from  the 
other,  in  regard  to  service,  wages,  and  privileges. 

(3.)  Masters  should  entertain  correct  notions  of  the  re¬ 
lation  they  stand  in  to  their  servants. 

The  service  referred  to  in  this  section,  is  that  which 
is  voluntary,  and  the  result  of  contract ;  not  that  which  is 
demanded  in  a  state  of  slavery. 

(4.)  Our  obligation  to  domestics  and  dependents  is  much 
greater  than  theirs  to  us.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that 
the  rich  man  maintains  his  servants,  tradesmen,  tenants, 
and  laborers  :  the  truth  is,  they  maintain  him.  It  is  their 
industry  which  supplies  his  table,  furnishes  his  wardrobe, 
builds  his  houses,  adorns  his  equipage,  provides  his  amuse¬ 
ments.  It  is  not  the  estate,  but  the  laborer  employed 
upon  it,  that  pays  his  rent.  All  that  he  does  is  to  distrib¬ 
ute  what  others  produce ;  which  is  the  least  part  of  the 
business,  either  in  respect  to  labor  or  true  honor. 


JUSTICE  AND  KINDNESS  TO  SERVANTS. 


293 


Three  Classes  of  Duties  of  Masters  —  Justice,  Kindness, 

Religion. 

Duty  of  Justice  to  Servants. 

644.  (1.)  It  demands  that  the  master  them  a fair  and  ^ 

prompt  remuneration  for  their  labor  ;  not  only  enough  to 
support  them  in  mere  existence,  but  in  comfort ;  and  to 
enable  them  to  lay  up  something  against  a  time  of  desti¬ 
tution  and  helplessness.  Their  wages  should  also  be 
regularly  paid.  It  is  disreputable  to  be  long  in  debt  to 
any  one,  but  utterly  scandalous  when  unpaid  servants  are 
the  creditors,  who  ask,  without  success,  for  what  has  been 
due  to  them  for  months. 

(2.)  Justice  demands  that  servants  should  be  paid  for 
all  the  work  they  do  ;  and  that  everything  which,  in  re¬ 
spect  to  time  or  labor,  is  above  the  stipulated  or  usual 
quantity  of  service  rendered  for  a  given  sum,  should  be 
most  equitably  paid  for. 

(3.)  Justice  requires  that  domestic  servants  be  well 
provided  for  in  the  necessaries  and  accommodations  of  life, 
as  to  food,  lodging,  clothing,  medicine.  Employers  that 
are  not  able  or  willing  to  provide  thus  for  their  servants, 
ought  to  do  their  own  work. 

(4.)  Justice  also  equally  demands,  in  the  case  of  clerks 
and  apprentices,  that  they  should  he  well  taught  the  busi¬ 
ness  they  come  to  learn  ;  especially  when,  as  in  many 
cases,  a  high  premium  is  paid  for  this  purpose.  To 
neglect  to  do  this  is  a  breach  of  covenant,  and  an  act  of 
robbery. 

(5.)  Justice  demands  that  when  they  desire  to  leave 
our  service,  we  should  give  them,  as  far  as  we  are  able, 
consistently  with  truth,  a  certificate  of  a  good  character : 
their  character  is  their  wealth,  and  if  this  be  gone,  their 
means  of  subsistence  have  fled. 

(6.)  It  is  but  common  justice  also,  to  do  something  for 
the  support  of  servants  who  have  worn  themselves  out  in  our 
service.  The  Mosaic  law,  for  the  Jews,  contains  such  a 
benevolent  provision. 

Duty  of  Kindness  to  Servants. 

645.  (!•)  It  requires  that  we  do  not  overwork  them,  nor 
make  such  incessant  demands  upon  their  time  that  they 


294 


DUTY  OF  KINDNESS  TO  SEKVANTS. 


shall  not  be  able  to  keep  their  own  clothing  in  proper  re¬ 
pair,  nor  attend  to  the  concerns  of  religion. 

(2.)  It  requires  that  our  method  of  addressing  them 
should  be  as  remote  from  bitterness  and  contemptuous  fride 
as  f rom  familiarity . 

(3.)  Kindness  requires  that  we  manifest  an  unvarying 
regard  for  their  comfort^  and  make  it  clear  to  them  that 
we  desire  to  see  them  happy. 

(4.)  It  requires  us  to  hear  with  those  lesser  infirmities 
which  may  comport  with  substantial  excellences ;  and  not 
to  be  too  strict  to  mark,  at  least  with  severity,  their  more 
trivial  faults.  Some  persons  render  their  servants  miser¬ 
able  by  incessant  complaint,  arising  from  excessive  neat¬ 
ness  or  self-importance. 

(5.)  Kindness  would  lead  us  to  administer  commendation 
as  often  as  jwssible,  and  to  censure  with  as  much  lenity,  as 
a  due  regard  to  justice  will  alloic. 

(6.)  Kindness  will  lead  us  to  allow  our  servants  various 
mdulgcnces  and  recreations  that  are  not  incompatible  with 
religion.  To  withhold  these,  converts  their  service  into 
slavery. 

(7.)  Unnecessary  changes  of  servants  should  be  avoided, 
and  everything  that  leads  to  them  on  the  part  of  the  em¬ 
ployer,  whether  bad  temper,  inflicting  excessive  labor,  or 
striving  after  unattainable  perfection. 

(8.)  A  kind  master  or  mistress  will  prevent  servants 
from  being  insulted  or  opjwessed  by  the  children.  It  is 
really  affecting  to  see  what  cruel  scorn  and  impertinence 
are,  in  some  families,  allowed  to  be  practiced  toward 
respectable  men  and  women,  by  those  little  tyrant  mas¬ 
ters  and  misses,  whose  weak  parents  never  allow  them  to 
be  opposed  in  anything. 

Duties  of  Religion  which  Employers  owe  their  Servants. 

646.  (1.)  The  first  care  must  be  not  to  oppose  their  re¬ 
ligion,  or  to  hinder  their  salvation  ;  either  by  setting  before 
them  a  bad  example,  or  by  direct  temptation,  or  by  em¬ 
ploying  them  to  practice  dishonesty  or  falsehood  in  the  way 
of  trade,  or  in  saying  to  visitors  that  their  masters  are  not 
at  home,  while  they  are  in  the  house  at  the  very  time. 

Their  salvation  is  hindered  when  we  keep  them  away 
from  the  means  of  salvation,  private  or  public,  especially 
on  the  Sabbath  day.  A  warm  dinner  should,  therefore, 


DUTIES  OF  SERVANTS  TO  EMPLOYERS. 


295 


for  their  sake,  be  dispensed  with  on  the  Sabbath,  that  they 
may  enjoy  its  religious  advantages  in  common  with  their 
employers,  as  it  is  equally  appointed  for  both. 

(2.)  It  is  our  duty  to  do  everything  in  our  power  to  pro¬ 
mote  the  salvation  of  our  servants,  by  setting  them  a  good 
example,  calling  them  regularly  to  family  prayer,  and 
making  them  subjects  of  it,  by  teaching  them  to  read  the 
Bible,  and  furnishing  them  with  other  appropriate  books, 
by  giving,  them  opportunities  for  attending  public  wor¬ 
ship,  and  to  keep  holy  the  Sabbath  day,  by  guarding  them 
against  pernicious  influences  of  every  kind,  and  by  recom¬ 
mending  religion  in  all  proper  methods. 

VI.  Duties  of  Family  Servants  to  their  Employers. 

647.  These  duties  briefly  consist  in  respect  for  their 
masters  or  employers  as  their  superiors;  submission  to 
their  just  authority ;  careful  attention  to  their  interests ; 
honesty,  diligence,  and  fidelity;  good  temper,  and  grati¬ 
tude  for  kindnesses  shown  to  them. 

648.  The  obedience  which  they  owe  employers  is  not 
unlimited. 

(1.)  It  is  limited  by  their  previous  stipulation,  or  estab¬ 
lished  by  custom.  A  general  servant  is  bound  to  execute 
all  the  orders  of  his  master ;  but  a  servant  engaged  only 
for  a  particular  purpose,  is  bound  only  to  it,  and  is  guilty 
of  no  breach  of  contract  when  he  declines  to  interfere 
with  another  department. 

(2.)  It  is  limited,  in  the  case  of  both  kinds  of  servants, 
by  the  laws  of  the  land  and  of  God.  A  master  has  no 
right  to  command  him  to  do  anything  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  the  land,  and  still  less  to  do  anything  which  the  law  of 
God  has  forbidden  ;  for  example,  to  tell  lies,  to  assist  him 
in  injustice,  fraud,  or  debauchery  ;  to  perform  any  unne¬ 
cessary  work  on  the  Sabbath. 

With  these  exceptions,  the  subjection  of  a  servant  to 
his  master  is  absolute,  during  the  time  of  their  connec¬ 
tion.  The  apostle  Paul  makes  use  of  strong  language  on 
this  subject,  though,  in  his  days,  servants  among  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  were  slaves  :  “  Servants,  obey  in  all 
things  your  masters  according  to  the  flesh  ;  not  with  eye- 
service,  as  men-pleasers ;  but  in  singleness  of  heart,  fear¬ 
ing  God ;  and  whatever  ye  do,  do  it  heartily,  as  to  the 
Lord  and  not  unto  men.” 


296 


CIVIL  GOVERNMENT. 


VII.  Duties  of  Magistrates  and  Subjects ;  or,  of  Officers  of 
Government,  and  Citizens. 

(a.)  Preliminary  Discussion. 

649.  Duties  of  this  class,  like  those  of  masters  and  ser¬ 
vants,  are  founded  on  mutual  compact ;  because,  with  the 
exception  of  parents  and  children,  between  whom  nature 
itself  has  established  an  inequality,  all  men  possessed  of 
reason  are  naturally  equal  in  respect  of  personal  rights, 
and  become  subject  to  others  either  by  violence,  which 
establishes  no  moral  obligation  to  submission,  or  by  their 
own  consent,  virtually  or  explicitly  given. 

Whether  Civil  Government  is  a  Human  or  Divine  Institution. 

650.  Although  the  Scripture  gives  its  general  sanction 
to  civil  government,  as  necessary  to  the  existence  and  good 
order  of  society,  it  still  calls  it  an  ordinance  of  man  (1  Pet. 
ii.  13);  signifying  that  it  is  a  human  institution,  and  con¬ 
sequently  that,  as  in  the  government  of  masters,  its  claim 
to  obedience  is  not  established  by  force,  but  by  law.  The 
jus  divinum  of  governments,  when  rationally  explained, 
can  only  mean  that  the  subjects  should  submit  to  their 
authority. 

Yet  civil  government  is  also  (Rom.  xiii.  2)  called  an 
ordinance  of  God,  and  the  “  powers  that  be”  are  said  to 
be  ordained  of  God.  Comparing  this  with  what  has  been 
said  above  it  would  seem  that,  according  to  Scripture, 
civil  government  is  of  divine  appointment,  and  magistrates 
in  the  exercise  of  their  lawful  authority  are,  by  the  com¬ 
mand  of  God,  to  be  obeyed.  The  institution,  is  of  God  ; 
yet  the  form,  is  human.  Hence  disobedience  to  just  civil 
authority,  is  disobedience  to  God.  The  language  of  Paul 
in  Rom.  xiii  is,  “  Let  every  soul  be  subject  to  the  higher 
powers ;  for  there  is  no  power  but  of  God  :  the  powers 
that  be  are  ordained  of  God.  Whosoever,  therefore,  re- 
sisteth  the  power,  resisteth  the  ordinance  of  God ;  and 
they  that  resist  shall  receive  to  themselves  damnation” 
(punishment). 

Other  portions  of  the  same  chapter  require  to  be  con¬ 
sulted,  in  order  to  undemtand  the  will  of  God  relating 
to  the  duties  now  under  consideration. 

Design  and  proper  Scope  of  Civil  Government. 

651.  “  Rulers  are  not  a  terror  to  good  works,  but  to 


OBEDIENCE  TO  CIVIL  RULERS. 


297 


the  evil “  for  he  (the  magistrate)  is  the  minister  (ser¬ 
vant)  of  God  to  thee  for  good  “if  thou  do  that  which 
is  evil,  be  afraid,  for  he  beareth  not  the  sword  in  vain, 
for  he  is  the  minister  of  God,  a  revenger  to  execute  wrath 
(punishment)  upon  him  that  doeth  evil.” 

The  design  of  God,  then,  in  the  appointment  of  civil 
rulers,  which  he  has  provided  for,  is,  to  secure  the  good 
of  society  by  the  preservation  of  order  and  morality  ;  and 
this  is  the  primary  object,  in  the  administration  or  enact¬ 
ment  of  laws,  which  rulers,  as  such,  are  allowed  and  re¬ 
quired  to  pursue.  Civil  government,  according  to  this 
view,  is  designed  to  uphold  the  interests  of  justice  and 
humanity  by  the  punishment  of  evil  doers;  and  on  this 
account,  as  well  as  on  account  of  divine  appointment  for 
this  purpose,  is  to  be  supported,  honored,  and  obeyed. 

How  far  Civil  Rulers  are  to  be  obeyed. 

652,  (1.)  In  general  it  may  be  said,  that  no  government 
is  lawful  which  does  not  exist  with  the  formal  or  virtual 
consent  of  the  people  ;  and  that  a  despotic  government  is 
a  usurpation. 

(2.)  The  obedience  of  subjects  or  citizens  is  limited  hy 
the  laws  of  the  land.  No  man  is  morally  bound  to  sub¬ 
mit  to  the  arbitrary  will  of  an  individual,  because  he  is 
called  a  king,  any  more  than  because  he  is  called  a  mas¬ 
ter,  or  to  the  will  of  a  lawful  magistrate,  when  he  orders 
anything  contrary  to  the  law  of  the  land.  The  moment 
he  steps  beyond  the  boundary  of  law,  he  loses  his  official 
character,  and  becomes  a  private  man  or  a  tyrant. 

(3.)  The  obedience  of  subjects,  or  citizens,  like  that  of 
servants,  is  limited  hy  the  law  of  God.  When  civil  rulers 
presume  to  command  what  He  has  forbidden,  or  to  for¬ 
bid  what  He  has  commanded,  they  become  rebels  against 
the  chief  magistrate  of  this  earth,  and  of  the  universe,  and 
have  no  claim,  therefore,  to  our  obedience ;  for  the  apos¬ 
tolic  principle  is,  “We  ought  to  obey  God  rather  than 
men.” 

(4.)  So  far  as  a  government  patronizes  good  works,  and 
punishes  such  as  are  evil,  so  far  as  it  answers  the  proper 
end  of  its  institution  by  maintaining  order,  and  justice, 
and  peace,  in  civil  society,  it  is  entitled  to  submission; 
but  when,  instead  of  protecting,  it  oppresses  the  people, 
we  can  be  no  more  bound  in  conscience  to  recognize  it 


298 


PROVINCE  OF  GOVERNMENT. 


as  lawful,  than  we  are  to  acknowledge  as  a  minister  of 
Christ,  the  man  who  teaches  fundamental  error  in  doc¬ 
trine,  and  licentiousness  in  practice. 

653.  The  right  of  deciding  when  the  duty  of  obedi¬ 
ence  ceases,  and  of  resistance  to  civil  authority  begins, 
must  belong,  obviously,  not  to  the  ruler,  but  to  the  sub¬ 
ject.  The  early  Chi'istians  decided  for  themselves  in  cer¬ 
tain  cases  when  it  was  proper  to  resist  the  civil  authorities 
of  the  land  ;  and  so  must  the  citizens  of  any  government. 

When  the  proper  design  of  government  is  systemati¬ 
cally  and  repeatedly  perverted ;  or  where  the  form  of  it 
is  incompatible  with  the  design  of  its  institution,  the  gov¬ 
erned  must  have  a  right  to  remedy  the  evil.  But  they 
cannot  have  the  moral  right  to  remedy  one  evil  by  the 
production  of  a  greater.  And,  therefore,  as  there  are  few 
greater  evils  than  instability  and  uncertainty  in  govern¬ 
ments,  the  cases  in  which  revolutions  are  justifiable  must 
be  exceedingly  rare. 

Interference  of  Civil  Government  in  matters  of  Religion. 

654.  The  proper  sphere  of  civil  government  is  that  of 
the  civil  and  social  relations  of  men,  and  their  temporal 
welfare.  Religion  and  morality,  as  such,  are  not  within 
the  legitimate  sphere  of  the  civil  authority.  To  justify 
the  interference  of  the  civil  government,  therefore,  it 
must  be  made  out,  that  an  opinion,  or  a  religion,  is  not 
only  false,  but  that  its  prevalence  is  incompatible  with  the 
rights  of  those  members  of  the  community  who  are  not 
embraced  within  its  communion,  before  the  civil  author¬ 
ity  can  be  authorized  to  interfere  for  its  suppression.  It 
is  then  to  be  suppressed,  not  as  a  religion,  but  as  a  public 
nuisance. 

We  do  not  find  in  the  New  Testament  any  commands 
addressed  to  magistrates  with  regard  to  the  suppression 
of  heresies  ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  do  we  meet  with  any 
directions  to  the  church,  to  interfere  with  matters  pertain¬ 
ing  to  the  civil  gf)vernment.  [Dr.  Hodge  on  Romans.] 

The  simple  province  of  civil  government,  with  regard  to 
religion,  is  to  protect  its  citizens  in  the  liberty  to  worship 
God  according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience  with  the 
single  limitation  just  expressed.  It  has  no  right  beyond 
this  to  meddle  with  religious  opinions  or  practices.  Free 
toleration  of  all  religions,  except  those  which  can  be 


EIGHTS  OF  RULERS  AND  SUBJECTS. 


299 


proved,  in  a  social  respect,  to  be  public  nuisances,  is  the 
law  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  practice  of  our  own  happy 
form  of  government. 

History  of  the  Contest  between  Civil  Rulers  and  Subjects. 

655.  The  doctrines  respecting  the  rights  of  civil  rulers, 
and  the  line  which  is  to  be  drawn  between  their  powers 
and  the  rights  of  conscience,  have  been  slow  to  be  under¬ 
stood.  The  sti'uggle  has  been  long;' and  a  thousand  per¬ 
secutions  have  shown  the  anxiety  of  the  magistrate  to 
rule  the  conscience  and  to  control  religion.  In  pagan 
countries  it  has  been  conceded  that  the  civil  ruler  had  a 
right  to  control  the  religion  of  the  people  ;  church  and 
state  there  have  been  one.  The  same  thing  was  at¬ 
tempted  under  Christianity.  The  magistrate  still  claimed 
this  right,  and  attempted  to  enforce  it.  Christianity  re¬ 
sisted  the  claim,  and  asserted  the  independent  and  original 
rights  of  conscience.  A  conflict  ensued,  of  course,  and 
the  magistrate  resorted  to  persecutions  to  subdue  by  force 
the  claims  of  the  new  religion  and  the  rights  of  conscience. 
Hence  the  ten  fiery  and  bloody  persecutions  of  the  prim¬ 
itive  church.  The  blood  of  the  early  Christians  flowed 
like  water;  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  went  to  the 
stake,  until  Christianity  triumphed,  and  the  right  of  re¬ 
ligion  to  a  free  exercise  was  acknowledged  throughout 
the  empire. 

It  is  matter  of  devout  gratitude  to  God  that  the  sub¬ 
ject  is  now  settled,  and  the  principle  is  now  understood. 
In  our  own  land  there  exists  the  happy  and  bright  illus¬ 
tration  of  the  true  principle  on  this  great  subject.  The 
rights  of  conscience  are  regarded,  and  the  laws  peacefully 
obeyed.  The  civil  ruler  understands  his  province ;  and 
Christians  yield  a  cheerful  obedience  to  the  laws.  The 
church  and  state  move  on  in  their  own  spheres,  united 
only  in  the  purpose  to  make  men  happy  and  good ;  and 
divided  only  as  they  relate  to  different  departments,  and 
contemplate,  .the  one  the  rights  of  civil  society,  the  other 
the  interests  of  eternity.  Thanks  should  be  rendered 
without  ceasing  to  the  God  of  our  fathers  for  the  won¬ 
drous  train  of  events  by  which  this  contest  has  been  con¬ 
ducted  to  its  issue  ;  and  for  the  clear  and  full  understanding 
which  we  now  have  of  the  different  departments  pertain¬ 
ing  to  the  church  and  the  state.  [Barnes  on  Romans.] 


soo 


DUTIES  OF  RULERS. 


(b.)  Ihities  of  Rvlers. 

656.  The  duty  of  magistrates  and  rulers,  is  to  govern 
according  to  the  principles  of  natural  equity  and  the  par¬ 
ticular  laws  of  the  land ;  to  render  obedience  to  those 
laws  themselves,  and  to  exact  obedience  of  those  over 
whom  their  just  control  extends.  They  are  required  to 
enact  just  laws,  and  those  which  are  in  accordance  with 
the  laws  of  God  (if  legislative  power  belongs  to  them), 
and  to  execute  thern  impartially,  if  executive  power  be 
confided  to  them.  They  are  to  guard  the  rights  of  citi¬ 
zens  ;  and  faithfully  to  execute  justice,  in  all  things  and 
to  all  men,  without  regard  to  wealth,  rank,  relationship, 
or  party,  that  they  may  be  a  terror  to  evil  doers,  and  for 
the  praise  of  them  that  do  well.  They  are  not  to  in¬ 
fringe  upon  the  rights  of  their  subjects  or  constituents,  by 
dictating  religious  sentiments,  or  prescribing  religious 
forms,  or  coercing  to  any  religious  practices.  Toleration 
and  protection  are  impartially  to  be  extended  to  all  sorts 
of  religionists,  except  when  such  practices  are  indulged 
by  any  as  may  be  fairly  proved  to  be  demoralizing,  and 
pernicious  to  the  interests  of  society. 

They  are  to  respect  the  laws  of  God,  as  well  as  the 
constitution  of  their  country  under  which  they  act,  and 
to  exert  an  influence  favorable  to  good  morals  and  piety. 

It  is  their  duty  to  maintain  order  and  peace-,  to  pat¬ 
ronize  arts  and  sciences,  to  encourage  virtue,  and  dis¬ 
courage  vice,  so  far  as  their  lawful  influence  extends. 

They  are  to  remember  that  they  were  appointed  to 
office  and  poiver,  not  for  their  oxen  advantage,  hvt  for  the 
good  of  society,  and  that  the  latter  and  not  the  fonner  is 
to  be  the  paramount  object  of  pursuit  while  they  hold  a 
public  office.  They  are  to  be  the  fathers  of  their  people, 
and  thus  merit  their  respect  and  willing  obedience.  “  A 
self-seeker  in  the  person  of  a  public  guardian,  is  the  just 
abhorrence  of  both  God  and  man.  A  pxiblic  magistrate 
ought  to  have  a  public  soul ;  and  if  he  cannot  or  will  not 
expand  it  to  the  extent  of  the  public  interest,  with  whose 
guardianship  he  is  honored,  he  ought  forthwith  to  retreat 
back  from  the  honors  of  public  life,  within  tlie  circum¬ 
ference  of  his  own  little  self.” 

[Winslow  on  Civil  and  Social  Duties.] 

They  are  also  to  remember  that  they  are  not  only,  es¬ 
pecially  under  our  republican  government,  the  servants 


DUTIES  OF  CITIZENS. 


301 


of  the  people,  and  appointed  to  can'y  out  the  lawful 
wishes  of  their  constituents,  of  those  who  have  constituted 
them  their  official  agents;  but  that  they  hold  an  office 
under  the  higher  government  of  God;  that  they  are  the 
“  ministers  of  God  for  good  ;”  that  they  are  His  servants, 
not  to  carry  out  the  designs  of  party  politics,  but  to  pro¬ 
mote  the  prosperity  of  their  country  in  its  civil,  commer¬ 
cial,  and  moral  interests.  They  are  to  realize  therefore 
that  they  are  amenable  to  God  in  a  higher  degree  than  to 
their  fellow-men,  who  requires  them,  while  they  do  not 
disregard  their  own  interest,  to  be  actuated  at  the  same 
time  by  a  benevolent  regard  to  the  public  welfare.  It  is 
“  for  good”  that  they  are  appointed. 

To  the  views  we  have  expressed,  of  the  subordination 
of  the  people  to  their  civil  rulers,  it  maybe  objected,  that 
according  to  the  genius  of  our  government,  the  people 
are  the  sovereigns,  while  rulers,  or  officers  of  govern¬ 
ment,  are  the  servants.  This  is  true  of  the  people  in  their 
collective  capacity  with  respect  to  the  appointment  of 
their  officers ;  but  it  is  not  true  of  the  people  in  their  in¬ 
dividual  capacity  with  reference  to  their  officers  when 
appointed.  The  ordinance  of  man,  upon  that  event,  be¬ 
comes  the  ordinance  of  God  ;  and  the  law  of  God  requires 
subjection,  respect,  and  obedience  to  those  raised  to 
official  stations — as  much  under  our  republican  form  of 
government,  as  it  did  under  a  monarchical  form. 

(c.)  Duties  of  Citizens,  or  Subjects. 

657.  (1.)  In  general,  obedience,  respect,  and  support,  are 
the  duties  which  subjects  owe  to  the  government  and  the 
laws.  Society  cannot  subsist  without  government,  which 
is  an  institution  of  God,  and,  as  such,  demands  I’espect 
and  support.  It  is  a  great  mistake  to  suppose  that  a  man 
is  at  liberty  to  do  what  he  pleases.  In  a  wilderness  he 
may  enjoy,  this  liberty,  but  whenever  he  enters  into  so¬ 
ciety,  he  joins  those  who  have  equal  liberty  with  himself; 
and  therefore  it  becomes  necessary  for  the  good  of  the 
whole,  that  each  be  restrained  from  injuring  his  neighbor, 
either  by  his  actions  or  omissions.  All  restraint,  indeed, 
beyond  this,  is  despotic;  but  there  is  no  despotism  in 
preventing  a  man  from  robbing  or  killing  his  neighbor, 
from  wronging  or  slandering  him,  from’  endeavoring  to 
subvert  the  constitution  of  the  society  to  which  he  be- 


302 


DUTIES  OF  CITIZENS. 


longs.  There  is  no  despotism  in  making  every  man  con¬ 
tribute  to  bear  the  burden  of  the  community,  or  obliging 
him  to  obey  those  laws  which  have  been  devised  and 
enacted  for  the  benefit  of  all. 

Liberty,  in  society,  never  can  exist,  at  the  expense  of 
justice,  order,  and  morality. 

A  good  citizen  always  obeys  and  respects  the  laws  of 
the  land,  and  honors  its  constituted  authorities,  and  en¬ 
courages  others  to  do  likewise.  No  selfish  motives,  no 
private  or  party  considerations  will  lead  him  to  disparage 
the  character  or  embarrass  the  administration  of  any  in 
power,  by  exaggerating  faults  or  misrepresenting  in¬ 
tentions. 

When  he  is  persuaded  that  public  officers  are  in  error, 
or  that  they  are  ymrsuing  improper  or  dangerous  measures, 
he  has  a  right,  and  it  may  be  his  duty,  to  give  full  utter¬ 
ance  to  his  convictions  with  regard  to  them,  but  he  must 
do  so  with  a  sacred  regard  to  conscience,  to  truth,  to  jus¬ 
tice,  and  to  the  good  of  his  country. 

He  must  remember  that  God  has  thrown  a  degree  of 
sacredness  round  the  office  and  functions  of  the  civil 
magistrate  and  legislator,  although  there  is  generally  too 

little  sacredness  belon^inCT  both  to  the  character  and  con- 

.  ®  . 

duct  of  public  functionaries.  The  sacredness  of  official 
station,  and  the  importance  of  due  honor  being  attached 
to  the  institution  of  civil  government,  impart  great  crim¬ 
inality  to  the  abusive  treatment,  too  common  in  this  land, 
toward  our  public  men.  No  arts  of  deception,  falsehood, 
and  slander,  however  mean  or  infamous,  are  refrained 
from  by  too  many  of  our  public  presses,  in  animadverting, 
for  party  purposes,  upon  official  conduct. 

An  apostle  was  directed  “  to  put  men  in  mind  to  be 
subject  to  principalities  and  powers,  to  obey  magistrates, 
to  be  ready  to  every  good  work,  to  speak  evil  of  no  man, 
to  he  no  brawlers,  but  gentle,  showing  all  meekness  to  all 
men.”  American  citizens,  editors  and  newspaper  writers 
especially,  need  to  be  “  put  in  mind”  of  this  divine  pre¬ 
scription. 

To  every  citizen  the  duty  belongs  to  “render  to  all 
their  dues,  honor  to  whom  honor  ffi  and  it  is  well  that  they 
should  keep  before  them  these  divine  declarations  :  “  The 
Lord  knoweth  how  to  reserve  the  unjust  to  the  day  of 
judgment  to  be  punished ;  but  chiefly  them  that  despise 


THE  BALLOT-BOX. 


303 


government,  ana,  are  not  afraid  to  speak  evil  of  digni¬ 
ties”  “  Thou  shalt  not  speak  evil  of  the  rulers  of  thy 
people.” 

The  wrong  doings  of  rulers  are  not  to  be  countenanced, 
nor  concealed  ;  they  ought  to  be  suitably  exposed,  and  one 
of  tbe  great  benefits  derived  from  many  of  our  newspa¬ 
pers  is,  that  they  help  to  guard  our  public  offices  from 
perversion  and  corruption,  by  holding  the  faults  of  their 
incumbents  before  the  public  eye  in  a  becoming  manner. 
But  this  is  far  from  being  true  of  all.  There  is  a  respect 
due  to  men  in  office  for  their  office^  sake,  even  in  exposing 
their  faults.  These  ought  to  be  exposed  in  a  way  to 
avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  degrading  the  dignity  of  their 
stations. 

658.  (2.)  Every  male  citizen  of  full  age,  in  this  republic, 
has  an  important  and  solemn  duty  to  perform,  at  regular  in¬ 
tervals,  at  the  BALLOT-BOX.  He  must  do  what  he  lawfully 
can  to  procure  the  election  of  competent  and  righteous  men 
to  ofice,  from  the  chief  magistrate  down  to  the  lowest 
town  officer.  It  was  the  good  advice  of  Jethro  to  the 
great  lawgiver  of  the  Hebrews,  to  provide  out  of  all  the 
people,  able  men,  such  as  fear  God,  men  of  truth,  hating 
covetousness,  and  to  place  such  over  the  nation ;  and  Mo¬ 
ses,  by  divine  sanction,  did  as  Jethro  so  wisely  recom¬ 
mended.  In  later  times,  and  in  the  more  popular  forms 
of  the  government  of  that  people,  when  they  became  neg¬ 
ligent  and  corrupt  in  the  election  of  their  rulers,  God 
turned  his  indignation,  as  he  had  threatened,  against  them. 
It  was  a  divine  injunction,  which  fell  from  the  lips  of  one 
of  their  best  kings  when  dying,  “  He  that  ruleth  over  men 
must  be  just,  ruling  in  the  fear  of  God.”  Of  course,  all 
who,  by  neglect,  or  by  improper  votes,  allow  or  aid  the  ele¬ 
vation  of  bad  or  weak  men  to  office,  are  guilty  of  sin 
against  God,  and  of  treason  against  the  state.  They  ex¬ 
pose  their  beloved  country  to  imminent  hazard,  for,  “  when 
the  righteous  are  in  authority,  the  people  rejoice  ;  but  when 
the  wicked  beareth  rule,  the  people  mourn.”  “Woe  unto 
thee,  O  land,  when  thy  king  (or  magistrate,  or  legislator) 
is  a  child.”  “  The  wicked  walk  on  every  side  when  vile 
men  are  exalted.” 

In  the  use  of  the  elective  franchise,  men  in  our  repub¬ 
lic  should  not  regard  party  spirit,  party  politics,  selfish 
ends,  instead  of  the  cause  of  righteousness  and  the  good 


304 


THE  BALLOT-BOX. 


of  the  nation.  They  should  understand,  and  govern  their 
conduct  by  the  sentiment,  that  universal  suffrage,  rightly 
exercised,  is  one  of  the  greatest  of  human  blessings ; 
abused,  one  of  the  greatest  of  curses.  Monarchy  itself  is 
better’ than  democracy,  unless  virtue  and  discretion  pre¬ 
side  at  the  polls. 

Says  S.  Gr.  Goodrich :  “  If  the  people  refuse  to  vote, 
the  great  design  of  our  government  fails ;  the  people  are 
not  represented,  and  therefore  we  have  the  goveinment 
of  a  part,  and  not  a  government  of  the  whole.  If  a  man 
refuse  to  vote,  how  can  he  be  sure  that  bad  men  will  not 
assemble  at  the  polls  and  put  in  bad  rulers  ]  He  who 
stays  away  from  the  polls  is  answerable  for  all  the  evil 
consequences  which  may  follow  from  his  neglect. 

“  A  man  is  bound  to  use  the  same  good  judgment — the 
same  common  sense  in  acting  for  the  people,  as  in  acting 
for  himself.  A  man  is  bound  to  use  the  same  vigilance 
in  acting  for  his  country,  as  in  acting  for  himself.  A  man 
is  bound  to  be  as  honest  in  acting  for  his  country,  as  in 
acting  for  himself;  to  cast  his  hallot  for  his  country,  and 
not  for  himself  (or  for  his  party).  There  is  a  sad  loose¬ 
ness  in  society,  both  in  thought  and  action,  respecting 
politics.  It  is  a  wicked  and  vicious  maxim,  that  ‘  all  is 
fair  in  politics.’  ” 

It  is  not  here  maintained  that  none  but  professedly 
religious  men  are  to  be  elected  to  office ;  for  it  often 
happens  that  a  man  not  professing  religion,  yet  of  moral 
honesty  and  integrity,  may  possess  all  the  requisite, 
and  even  superior  qualifications  for  an  office  ;  but  still 
Christian  principle  is  very  desirable,  for,  without  this, 
other  qualifications  often  render  men  in  office  the  more 
dangerous.  Hence  we  are  required  to  pray  for  our 
rulers. 

659.  (3.)  There  has  grown  up  among  us,  of  late,  great 
contempt  of  constitutional,  of  official,  and  even  of  private 
rights  and  interests  ;  a  tendency  to  mobocracy,  and  riot, 
and  anarchy ;  an  increasing  impatience  of  all  subordina¬ 
tion  ;  a  pernicious  denial  of  the  divine  origin  and  sanction 
of  civil  government,  and  a  bold  assertion  of  the  preemi¬ 
nence  of  individual  rights  :  that  inbred  sentiment  of  respect 
for  superiors  in  office  and  rank,  w’hich  is  the  support  of  all 
virtue,  religion,  and  government,  is  in  danger  of  being  ut¬ 
terly  broken  down ;  and  unless  we  reform,  it  will  come 


PRAYER  FOR  RULERS  AND  CITIZENS. 


305 


to  pass  that  no  respectable  man  will  accept  of  our  offices, 
and  moreover,  if  we  countenance  this  vulgar  contempt 
of  rulers,  a  large  portion  of  voters  will  in  their  wisdom 
judge  that  contemptible  men  are  the  right  sort  of  men  for 
rulers. 

Let  the  conduct  of  our  citizens  say  that  rulers  are  men 
to  he  respected ;  then  will  the  sentiment,  already  advo¬ 
cated,  prevail,  that  none  ought  to  be  elected  but  men 
worthy  of  respect. 

660.  (4.)  In  the  proper  support  of  goveniment  and 
order,  there  are  several  particular  duties  it  may  be  expe¬ 
dient  to  refer  to  :  the  paying  of  taxes  and  custom-house 
duties  ;  the  rendering  of  military  service,  when  the  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  country  requires  it ;  serving  on  juries,  render¬ 
ing  testimony  in  civil  courts,  when  called  upon  to  do  so  for 
the  maintenance  of  justice,  &c. 

661.  (5.)  It  is  made  the  duty  of  citizens  to  pray  for 
their  rulers.  We  are  not  only  to  cease  to  speak  evil  of 
them,  but  we  are  to  pray  for  them,  that  they  may  be 
good  men,  and  become  better,  and  wiser,  and  more 
useful  men  in  the  stations  to  which  they  are  elevated, 
and  that,  under  their  administration,  and  through  their 
influence,  all  under  their  control  may  become  better  men, 
and  the  condition  of  our  country  in  all  respects  be  im¬ 
proved  and  rendered  more  prosperous.  This  accords 
with  the  law  of  the  Scriptures.  “  I  exhort,”  says  Paul, 
“  that  first  of  all,  supplications  and  prayers,  intercessions 
and  giving  of  thanks,  be  made  for  all  men  ;  for  kings” 
(or,  in  this  country,  for  the  President),  “  and  for  all  that 
are  in  authority,  that  we  may  lead  quiet  and  peaceable 
lives,  in  all  godliness  and  honesty.” 

By  pursuing  this  heaven-appointed  course,  we  should 
learn  to  entertain  feelings  of  great  kindness  and  respect 
for  our  rulers ;  we  should  be  more  conscientious  in  their 
election  to  office;  we  should  derive  greater  benefits  from 
their  official  labors  ;  and  we  should  add  much  to  their 
happiness  and  our  own. 

662.  (6.)  Prayer  for  rulers  will  suggest  prayer  for  the 
subjects,  or  citizens,  that  the  latter  may  be  led  to  the  dis¬ 
charge  of  all  those  duties  which  appertain  to  them  in 
their  civil  capacity  and  relations.  The  duty  of  prayer 
for  magistrates  and  citizens  is  one  of  the  most  important 
and  sublime  duties  of  an  enlightened,  liberal,  and  Chris- 


306 


DUTIES  OF  PATRIOTISM. 


tian  patriotism ;  and  it  cannot  be  neglected  without  per¬ 
sonal  guilt,  and  public  mischief. 

[For  the  greater  part  of  this  account  of  the  duties  of  citizens  and  rulers, 
we  are  indebted  to  Winslow  on  Civil  Duties,  to  which,  for  a  fuller  ac¬ 
count,  reference  may,  with  great  advantage,  be  made.  We  are  indebted, 
also,  to  Professor  Dick’s  Lectures,  and  to  Burn’s  Christian  Philosophy, 
and  to  the  other  authors  referred  to  in  the  article.] 

VIII.  Duties  of  Patriotism. 

“  Breathes  there  the  man,  with  soul  so  dead, 

Who  never  to  himself  hath  said. 

This  is  my  own,  my  native  land ! 

Whose  heart  hath  ne’er  within  him  burned. 

As  home  his  footsteps  he  hath  turned. 

From  wandering  on  a  foreign  strand?” 

663.  Christianity  encourages  patriotism  so  far  as  is 
consistent  with  general  benevolence.  If  it  encouraged  it 
to  a  greater  extent,  it  would  injure  its  claims  to  be  re¬ 
garded  as  a  system  for  the  world.  Christianity  is  designed 
to  benefit  not  a  community,  but  the  world.  The  pro¬ 
motion  of  the  interests  of  one  community  by  injuring 
those  of  another,  it  utterly  rejects  as  wrong.  The  univer¬ 
sality  of  benevolence  which  Christianity  inculcates,  both 
in  its  essential  character  and  in  its  precepts,  is  incom¬ 
patible  with  that  patriotism  which  would  benefit  our 
own  community  at  the  expense  of  general  benevolence. 
Patriotism,  as  it  is  often  advocated,  is  a  low  and  selfish 
principle,  a  principle  wholly  unworthy  of  that  enlightened 
and  expanded  philanthropy  which  religion  proposes. 

664.  Patriotism,  truly  defined,  is  that  affection  to  our 
country,  which,  while  it  respects  as  sacred  the  rights  and 
the  welfare  of  every  land,  of  every  foreign  individual, 
teaches  us  to  manifest,  within  the  limits  of  justice,  special 
affection  to  our  own  country,  in  proportion  to  the  special 
ties  by  which  we  are  united  with  the  region  that  gave  us 
birth. 

665.  There  are  several  forms  of  patriotism  that  are 
unjust,  unlawful,  unchristian. 

(1.)  The  patriotism  of  the  Jeics,  in  the  time  of  Christ, 
which  Impelled  them  to  abominate  eveiy  other  nation  as 
accursed,  and  to  refuse  to  render  them  even  the  slightest 
good  office. 

(2.)  The  patriotism  of  the  Greeks,  which  despised  the 
rest  of  mankind  as  ignorant  barbarians. 

(3.)  The  patriotism  of  the  Romans,  whose  ambitious 


DUTIES  OF  PATRIOTISM. 


307 


love  of  conquest  for  the  supposed  glory  of  their  country, 
stimulated  them  to  bloody  and  cruel  efforts  to  enslave 
the  world. 

(4.)  The  patriotism  of  more  modern  nations,  so  much 
boasted  of,  which  leads  men  to  seek  the  aggrandizement 
of  their  country,  regardless  of  the  morality  of  the  means 
by  which  that  aggrandizement  is  to  be  accomplished ; 
which  fosters  party  spirit,  engenders  strife  and  every 
evil  passion,  encourages  slavery,  and  excites  one  part  of 
the  human  race  to  murder  and  extirpate  the  other. 

666.  On  the  other  hand,  Christianity  does  not  encourage 
the  doctrine  of  being  “a  citizen  of  the  world,”  and  of  pay¬ 
ing  no  more  regard  to  our  own  community  than  to  any 
other.  Such  a  doctrine  is  not  rational ;  because,  it  op¬ 
poses  the  exercise  of  natural  feelings,  and  because  if  it 
were  attempted  to  be  reduced  to  practice,  it  would 
destroy  private  affections  without  producing  universal 
philanthropy. 

The  Bible,  while  it  teaches  us  to  cherish  good-will  to 
all,  teaches  also  a  special  good-will  to  those  near,  and 
related  to  us  by  particular  ties :  “  As  we  have,  therefore, 
opportunity,  let  us  do  good  to  all  men,  especially  unto 
them  who  are  of  the  household  of  faith.”  “  If  any  pro¬ 
vide  not  for  his  own,  and  especially  for  those  of  his  own 
house,  he  hath  denied  the  faith.” 

All  this  is  perfectly  rational  and  natural,  as  we  have 
asserted.  Since  the  helpless  and  those  who  need  assist¬ 
ance  must  obtain  it  somewhere,  where  can  they  so 
rationally  look  for  it,  as  from  those  with  whom  they  are 
connected  in  society  I  If  these  do  not  exercise  benig¬ 
nity,  who  will  1  And  as  to  the  dictate  of  nature,  it  is  a 
law  and  impulse  of  nature  that  a  man  shall  provide  for  his 
own. 

Proper  Mode  in  which  Patriotism  should  he  exercised. 

667.  He  is  the  truest  patriot  who  benefits  his  own 
country  without  diminishing  the  welfare  of  another.  For 
which  reason,  those  who  induce  improvements  in  the 
administration  of  justice,  in  the  maxims  of  governing,  in 
the  political  constitution  of  the  state  ;  or  those  who  ex¬ 
tend  and  rectify  the  education,  or  in  any  other  manner 
amend  the  moral,  social,  or  religious  condition  of  a  people, 
possess  incomparably  higher  claims  to  the  praise  of  pa- 


308  DUTIES  OF  MINISTERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 

triotlsra  than  multitudes  of  those  who  receive  it  from  the 
popular  voice. 

That  patriotism  which  is  manifested  in  political  parti¬ 
sanship,  or  in  military  operations,  is  frequently  of  a  very 
questionable  kind  :  many  are  called  patriots,  of  whom  the 
motives  and  the  actions  are  pernicious  or  impure.  INIen 
too  frequently  do  not  enter  armies  because  they  love  their 
country,  but  because  they  want  a  living,  or  are  pleased 
with  a  military  life  :  and  when  they  have  entered,  they 
do  not  fight  because  they  love  their  country,  but  because 
fighting  is  their  business,  and  because  men  will  praise 
them  for  fighting  manfully. 

[Dymond’s  Essays  ;  Horne’s  Introduction.] 

IX. — Duties  of  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  of  the  People  of 

their  Charge. 

668.  The  duty  of  those  who  have  undertaken  the  im¬ 
portant  work  of  spiritual  guides  and  teachers,  is  to  deliver 
the  doctrines  and  precepts,  and  other  instructions  of  the 
Bible,  in  plain  and  strong  terms ;  insisting  on  such  things 
chiefly,  as  will  be  most  conducive  to  the  real  and  in¬ 
ward  benefit  of  their  hearers,  and  recommending  them 
in  the  most  prudent  and  persuasive  manner ;  seeking  to 
please  all  men  for  their  good,  to  edification,  but  fearing  no 
man  in  the  full  discharge  of  duty  ;  and  neither  saying  nor 
omitting  anything,  for  the  sake  of  applause,  or  any  other 
temporal  benefit,  from  the  many  or  the  few.  It  is  their 
duty  to  insti'uct,  exhort,  and  comfort  all  that  are  placed 
under  their  care,  with  sincerity,  discretion,  and  tender¬ 
ness,  privately  as  well  as  publicly,  so  far  as  opportunity 
is  afforded,  and  there  is  hope  of  doing  good :  watching 
for  their  souls  as  they  that  must  give  account.  2  Tim.  iv. 
2-5  ;  1  Pet.  v.  2-4  ;  1  Thes.  ii.  7-13. 

It  is  also  their  duty  to  rule  in  the  church  of  God  with 
vigilance,  humility,  and  meekness,  showing  themselves,  in 
aid  things,  patterns  of  good  works — thus  endeavoring  to 
keep  their  flock  in  the  right  way,  and  to  bring  them  back 
when  they  have  wandered  from  it. 

Would  I  describe  a  preacher,  such  as  Paul, 

Were  he  on  earth,  would  hear,  approve,  and  own, 

Paul  should  himself  direct  me.  I  would  trace 
His  master-strokes,  and  draw  from  his  design. 

I  would  express  him  simple,  grave,  sincere ; 

In  doctrine,  incorrupt ;  in  language,  plain. 

And  plain  in  manner ;  decent,  solemn,  chaste. 


DUTIES  OF  HEARERS  OF  THE  GOSPEL. 


309 


And  natural  in  gesture  ;  much  impressed 
Himself,  as  conscious  of  his  awful  charge, 

And  anxious  mainly  that  the  flock  he  feeds 
May  feel  it  too ;  affectionate  in  look. 

And  tender  in  address,  as  well  becomes 
A  messenger  of  grace  to  guilty  men.  Cowper. 

669.  (1.)  It  is  the  duty  of  their  people  to  attend  con¬ 
stantly  and  seriously  on  religious  worship  and  instruction, 
at  the  appointed  seasons,  as  a  sacred  ordinance  designed 
by  heaven  for  their  spiritual  enjoyment. 

(2.)  It  is  their  duty,  individually,  to  bear  a  due  pro¬ 
portion,  according  to  their  means,  and.  more,  if  it  be 
necessary  (as  is  often  the  case  through  the  penuriousness 
or  indifference  of  others),  in  supporting  the  regular  min¬ 
istration  of  the  Gospel ;  so  that  their  minister  may  not  be 
embarrassed  in  his  spiritual  duties  by  unavoidable  anxiety 
and  care  about  his  temporal  subsistence.  His  salary  should 
be  promptly  and  fully  paid — both  justice  and  religion 
equally  require  this  to  be  done.  Gal.  vi.  6 ;  1  Cor.  ix. 
7-15. 

(3.)  It  is  also  their  duty  to  consider  impartially  and 
carefully  what  they  hear  from  their  minister  in  his  official 
capacity,  and  to  believe  and  practice  what  they  are  con¬ 
vinced  they  ought  :  to  observe  with  due  regard  the  rules 
established  for  decent  order  and  edification  in  the  church, 
and  pay  such  respect,  in  word  and  deed,  to  those  who 
minister  to  them  in  holy  things,  as  the  interest  and  honor 
of  religion  require  ;  accepting  and  encouraging  the  well 
meant  services  of  their  ministers,  and  bearing  charitably 
with  their  imperfections  and  failings.  [Seeker’s  Lectures.] 

X.  Duties  connected  icith  the  various  stages  of  Human  Life, 
(a.)  Duties  of  the  Young. 

670.  It  is  the  duty  of  youth  to  begin  early  to  give  se¬ 
rious  attention  to  habits  and  conduct.  The  honor  or  in¬ 
famy,  the  happiness  or  misery  of  men,  depends  much 
upon  the  care  and  wisdom  practiced  in  early  life.  Youth 
is  the  best  season  for  the  acquirement  of  virtuous  habits. 

671.  The  virtues  most  necessary  to  be  cultivated  in  youth, 
are — 

(1.)  Piety  to  God,  and  reverence  for  all  that  is  sacred, 
both  as  a  foundation  to  good  morals,  and  as  a  disposition 
particularly  graceful  and  becoming  to  youth. 

(2.)  Modesty  and  docility,  reverence  of  parents,  and 


310 


DUTIES  OF  THE  YOUNG. 


submission  to  superiors  in  knowledge,  in  station,  and  in 
years. 

(3.)  Sincerity,  candor,  and  truth  are  to  be  carefully 
practiced  ;  while  artifice,  deceit,  meanness,  and  dissimu¬ 
lation,  are  to  be  avoided  by  every  youth. 

(4.)  Youth  is  a  very  proper  and  favorable  season  to 
cultivate  the  benevolent  and  humane  affections;  and  to 
form  the  habit  of  “  doing  all  things  to  others,  according 
as  they  wish  that  others  should  do  to  them.” 

(5.)  The  manners  of  youth  should  be  distinguished  by 
that  courtesy  which  springs  not  so  much  from  studied 
politeness  as  from  a  mild  and  gentle  heart.  Manners 
should  be  simple  and  natural. 

(6.)  Temperance  in  pleasure  is  peculiarly  important  to 
youth ;  this  consists  in  so  pursuing  it  as  not  to  hurt  them¬ 
selves  or  others. 

(7.)  Diligence,  industry,  and  proper  improvement  of 
time,  are  material  duties  of  the  young.  By  them  are 
habits  of  industry  most  easily  acquired,  and  to  none  are 
they  more  impoi'tant  as  a  source  of  improvement  and  of 
pleasure,  and  as  a  safeguard  against  vice  and  consequent 
ruin. 

The  acquisition  of  useful  knowledge  is  one  of  the  most 
honoi’able  occupations  of  youth  ;  the  desire  of  it  discovers 
a  liberal  mind. 

Useful  industry  is  the  law  of  our  being  :  it  is  the  demand 
of  Nature,  of  reason,  and  of  God. 

(8.)  It  is  too  common  with  the  young,  even  when  they 
resolve  to  tread  the  path  of  virtue  and  honor,  to  set  out 
with  a  presumptuous  confidence  in  themselves.  Such 
are  the  dangers  and  difficulties  of  their  path  that  they 
need  peculiarly  the  aid  of  their  Heavenly  Father,  and 
should  seek  it  daily  by  humble  prayer,  and  a  spirit  of 
dependence.  [Dr.  H.  Blair.] 

(&.)  On  the  Duties  which  belong  to  Middle  Age. 

672.  (!•)  The  first  duty  of  those  who  are  become  men, 
is,  to  put  away  the  frivolities,  follies,  and  levities  of  youth. 

(2.)  Middle  age  is  the  season  when  we  are  expected 
to  display  the  fruits  which  education  in  youth  had  pre¬ 
pared  and  ripened.  Every  man  is  expected  to  contribute 
actively  his  just  share  to  the  public  good,  by  discharging 
the  duties  which  belong  to  all  the  relations  of  life.  Idle- 


DUTIES  OF  MIDDLE  AND  OP  OLD  AGE. 


311 


Dess  is  tlie  bane  and  corrupter  of  youtb ;  but  particularly 
is  it  the  bane  and  the  dishonor  of  middle  age. 

Middle  age,  as  well  as  youth,  has  its  dangers.  The 
love  of  pleasure  in  youth  is  succeeded  by  the  passion  for 
gain  or  power,  W’hicli  too  often  absorbs  the  whole  soul 
and  debases  the  character. 

(3.)  It  is  also  the  duty  of  those  in  middle  life  to  lay  a 
foundation  for  comfort  in  old  age,  which  they  hope  to  see. 
For  old  age,  as  for  every  other  thing,  a  certain  prepara¬ 
tion  is  requisite ;  and  that  preparation  consists  chiefly  in 
three  particulars  :  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge,  o? 
friends,  and  of  virtue. 

(4.)  Among  the  measures  thus  taken  for  the  latter 
scenes  of  life,  no  one  should  forget  to  put  his  worldly 
affairs  in  order  in  due  time.  This  is  a  duty  which  every 
one  owes  to  his  character,  to  his  family,  or  to  those,  who¬ 
ever  they  be,  that  are  to  succeed  him. 

To  live  long,  ought  not  to  be  our  favorite  wish,  so 
much  as  to  live  usefully  and  well. 

c.)  Duties  of  Old  Age. 

As  in  the  day  of  human  life  there  is  a  morning  and  a 
noon,  so  it  is  fit  that  there  should  be  an  evening  also, 
when  the  lengthening  shadows  shall  admonish  us  of  ap¬ 
proaching  night.  In  these  circumstances — 

673.  (1.)  The  duty  of  the  old  is  to  consider  that  all  the 
seasons  of  life  have  their  several  trials  allotted  to  them, 
and  that  to  bear  the  infirmities  of  age  with  becoming 
patience,  is  as  much  their  duty,  as  is  that  of  the  young  to 
resist  the  temptation  of  youthful  pleasure. 

(2.)  It  is  their  duty  not  to  allow  themselves  to  enter¬ 
tain  a  peevish  disgust  at  the  manners,  and  to  pass  a  malig¬ 
nant  censure  upon  the  innocent  enjoyments  of  the  young. 
In  order  to  make  the  two  extremes  of  life  to  unite  in 
amicable  society,  it  is  greatly  to  be  wished,  that  the 
young  would  look  forward  and  consider  that  they  shall 
one  day  be  old  ;  and  that  the  old  would  look  back,  and, 
remembering  that  they  once  were  young,  make  proper 
allowances  for  the  temper  and  manners  of  youth. 

(3.)  The  aged  should  guard  against  a  miserly  covetous¬ 
ness,  arising  often  from  an  apprehension  of  want,  as  they 
feel  the  weakness  of  old  age  coming  upon  them.* 

(4.)  The  voice  of  nature  calls  the  aged  to  leave  to 


312 


DUTIES  OF  OLD  AGE. 


Others  the  hustle  and  contest  of  the  world,  and  gradually 
to  disengage  themselves  from  a  burden  which  begins  to 
exceed  their  strength ;  retiring  more  and  more  from  pub¬ 
lic  observation  to  domestic  scenes  and  serious  thoughts. 

(5.)  A  part  of  the  duty  of  the  aged  consists  in  studying 
to  be  useful  to  the  race  who  are  to  succeed  them.  To 
them  it  belongs  to  impart  to  the  young  the  fruit  of  their 
long  experience  ;  to  warn  them  of  the  various  dangers  of 
life  ;  and,  both  by  precept  and  example,  to  form  them  to 
2)iety  and  virtue. 

Old  age  never  appears  with  greater  dignity,  than  when, 
tempered  with  mildness,  and  enlivened  with  good-humor, 
it  acts  as  the  guide  and  the  patron  of  youth. 

(6.)  In  the  midst  of  their  endeavors  to  be  useful  to 
others,  the  aged  should  not  forget  those  religious  employ¬ 
ments  which  their  own  state  particularly  requires. 

*•  ’Tis  greatly  wise  to  talk  with  our  past  hours. 

And  ask  them  what  report  they  bore  to  heaven  ; 

And  how  they  might  have  borne  more  welcome  news.” 

In  silent  and  thoughtful  meditation,  it  becomes  them  to 
walk  as  on  the  shore  of  that  vast  ocean  upon  which  they 
are  soon  to  embark,  and  also  to  make  a  frequent  retro¬ 
spect  of  the  long  journey  of  life,  in  order  to  notice  and 
extol  the  watchful  care  and  undeserved  beneficence  of 
God,  who  had  thus  far  conducted  them.  [Dr.  H.  Blair.] 

XI.  Effects  of  the  universal  Violation  of  the  Fifth  Precept. 

674.  Were  this  precept  reversed,  or  universally  vio¬ 
lated,  every  social  tie  would  be  torn  asunder,  every  prin¬ 
ciple  of  subordination  destroyed,  every  government  over¬ 
turned,  and  the  whole  assembly  of  human  beings  convert¬ 
ed  into  a  discordant  mass  of  lawless  banditti. 

[Professor  Dick’s  Lectures.] 


595.  What  is  the  general  design  of  the  Fifth  Commandment  ? 

596.  How  may  the  relations  of  society  be  classified,  in  regard  to  their 
origin  or  basis  ? 

597.  Relate  the  anecdote  of  the  school-boy? 

598.  What,  in  a  general  view,  is  implied  in  the  command  to  honor  our 
parents  ? 

599.  What  is  involved  in  the  duty  of  love  to  our  parents  ? 

600.  How  may  the  duty  of  filial  reverence  be  explained  ? 

601.  What  is  the  duty  of  children  residing  at  home  with  respect  to  the 
regulations  of  the  family  ? 

602.  What  is  the  duty  of  children  in  regard  to  the  misconduct  of  pa¬ 
rents  ? 

603.  What  illustrations  of  the  duty  of  kindness  to  parents  may  be  added  ? 


aUESTIONS  ON  THE  FIFTH  PRECEPT, 


313 


604.  What  may  be  said  concerning  the  duty  of  children  to  consult  their 
parents  ? 

603.  What  is  the  nature  and  extent  of  that  obedience  which  children 
are  under  obligation  to  render  their  parents  ? 

606.  What  is  implied  in  the  duty  of  submission  to  family  discipline? 

607.  What  are  some  of  the  motives  to  the  performance  of  filial  du¬ 
ties  ? 

608.  What  duties  do  the  children  of  a  family  owe  to  each  other  ? 

609.  What  general  view  may  be  given  of  parental  duties? 

610.  What  important  prerequisites  are  there  to  the  successful  and  proper 
discharge  of  parental  duties  ? 

611.  What  are  some  of  the  branches  of  parental  duty? 

612.  What  may  be  said  respecting  the  duty  of  maintenance? 

613.  What  may  be  said  respecting  the  duty  of  affording  scholastic  in¬ 
struction  ? 

614.  What  remarks  are  made  respecting  the  selection  of  a  school? 

615.  What  remarks  concerning  the  just  idea  of  education? 

616.  What  remarks  are  offered  upon  a  due  regard  to  the  health  of  chil¬ 
dren  ? 

617.  What  notions  concerning  wealth  and  worldly  show  ought  to  be 
instilled  early  into  the  minds  of  children? 

618.  What  is  said  of  the  forming  of  industrious  habits  ? 

619.  What  is  said  of  economy  ? 

620.  What  of  regular  employment  ? 

621.  What  of  generosity? 

622.  What  of  prudence  ? 

623.  What  of  the  education  of  circumstances? 

624.  What  of  the  responsibility  of  fathers  ? 

625.  How  soon  should  religious  instruction  begin,  and  how  con¬ 
ducted  ? 

626.  What  anecdote  is  related  of  Thelwall  and  Coleridge  ? 

627.  What  are  important  parts  of  religious  education  ? 

628.  Is  discipline  a  part  of  parental  duty ;  and  how  should  it  be  con¬ 
ducted  ? 

629.  Is  correction  an  essential  part  of  good  discipline  ? 

630.  Remarks  upon  corporeal  punishment  ? 

631.  Rules  for  infliction  of  chastisement? 

632.  Caution  to  parents  not  to  foster  certain  propensities  in  children? 

633.  Robert  Hall’s  reproof? 

634.  Necessity  of  a  good  parental  example? 

635.  Necessity  of  careful  parental  inspection? 

636.  Duty  of  prayer  on  the  part  of  parents  ? 

637.  Anecdote  of  Earl  Roden? 

638.  To  what  class  of  duties  will  these  most  nearly  correspond  ? 

639.  What  prominent  objects  does  it  fall  within  the  duty  of  the  instructor 
to  promote  ? 

640.  What  duties  does  he  owe  to  himself  in  the  character  of  an  in¬ 
structor? 

641.  What  prominent  duties  does  he  owe  his  scholars  ? 

642.  What  duties  does  the  pupil  owe  to  an  instructor? 

643.  What  preliminary  remarks  are  offered  ? 

644.  What  does  the  duty  of  justice  to  servants  demand  ? 

645.  What  does  the  duty  of  kindness  to  servants  demand  ? 

646.  What  duties  of  religion  do  masters  owe  to  their  servants? 

647.  What,  in  general  terms,  are  the  duties  of  servants  to  their  em¬ 
ployers  ? 

648.  By  what  is  the  extent  of  their  obedience  limited  ? 

649.  Upon  what  are  duties  of  this  class  founded  ? 

650.  Is  civil  government  a  human  or  a  divine  institution  ? 

o 


314 


THE  SIXTH  COMMANDMENT. 


651.  Wnat,  according  to  Scripture,  is  the  design  and  proper  scope  of 
civil  government? 

652.  The  question  here  arises,  how  far  civil  rulers  are  to  be  obeyed — 
how  far  the  duty  of  submission  extends? 

653.  To  whom  belongs  the  right  of  deciding  when  the  duty  of  obedience 
ceases,  and  that  of  resistance  to  civil  authority  begins? 

654.  How  far  has  civil  government  a  right  to  interfere  in  matters  of 
religion  ? 

655.  What  is  the  history  of  the  contest  between  the  rights  of  civil  rulers 
and  the  rights  of  conscience  in  the  mind  of  the  subjecf? 

656.  In  view  of  these  preliminary  discussions,  what  appear  to  be  the 
duties  of  rulers  ? 

657.  What  is  the  first  class  of  duties  belonging  to  a  subject  or  a  citi¬ 
zen  ? 

658.  Duty  of  a  citizen  at  the  ballot-box  ? 

659.  Are  there  any  circumstances  in  our  country  at  the  present  time 
which  give  great  importance  to  the  duties  just  described  ? 

660.  Duties  necessary  to  the  proper  support  of  government  and  order  ? 

661.  Duty  of  prayer  for  rulers? 

662.  Duty  of  prayer  for  fellow-citizens? 

663.  How  far  does  Christianity  encourage  particular  patriotism? 

664.  What  is  the  true  definition  of  patriotism  ? 

665.  What  unjust,  unlawful,  unchristian  forms  of  patriotism  may  be 
noticed  that  conflict  with  the  definition  just  given  ? 

666.  Does  Christianity,  on  the  other  hand,  encourage  the  doctrine  of 
being  “  a  citizen  of  the  world,”  and  of  paying  no  more  regard  to  our  own 
community  than  to  every  other  ? 

667.  What  is  the  proper  mode  in  which  patriotism  should  be  exer¬ 
cised  ? 

668.  What,  briefly,  is  the  duty  of  the  former? 

669.  What  brief  account  can  you  give  of  the  duties  which  a  people  owe 
to  their  religious  minister? 

670.  What  is  a  primary  duty  of  the  young? 

671.  W'hat  virtues  is  it  peculiarly  necessary  for  the  young  to  culti¬ 
vate  ? 

672.  What  duties  peculiarly  befit  those  in  middle  life  ? 

673.  What  duties  befit  old  age  ? 

674.  W'ere  this  precept  to  be  reversed,  or  unwersally  violated,  what 
scenes  of  anarchy  and  confusion  would  ensue  ? 

SIXTH  COMMANDMENT. 

“  Thou  shall  not  kill." 

675.  Its  ‘prominent  design  is,  to  guard  human  life 
against  violence,  to  render  it  a  sacred  thing,  vvdiich  is  not 
to  be  touched  but  by  Him  whose  gift  it  is,  and  who  has  a 
right  to  resume  it  at  his  pleasure. 

676.  A  distinction  is  made  between  it  and  the  life  of 
the  lower  animals,  in  one  of  the  precepts  delivered  to 
Noah.  Man  holds  a  higher  rank  in  the  scale  of  being  ; 
his  life  is  therefore  of  much  greater  value,  and  to  take  it 
unjustly  away,  is  a  crime  which  ought  not  to  pass  with 
impunity.  “  Whoso  sheddeth  man’s  blood,  by  man  shall 
his  blood  bp  shed,  for  in  the  image  of  God  made  He 
man.” 


THE  KILLING  OF  ANIMALS. 


315 


I.  Killing  of  Animals. 

Gil.  In  itself  the  precept  is  unlimited,  and  prohibits  the 
taking  of  the  life  of  any  animal.  Nor  has  man  any  right 
to  limit  it  to  the  human  family.  None  but  God  himself, 
the  author  of  life,  can  give  authority,  in  any  case,  to  kill. 

He  has  allowed  us,  however,  by  express  statute,  to 
take  away  the  life  of  the  lower  animals,  when  they  are 
necessary  for  our  food,  or  when  they  are  hostile  and  dan¬ 
gerous  to  us.  This  permission  was  first  granted,  imme¬ 
diately  after  the  flood,  to  Noah  and  his  descendants : 
“  God  said  to  Noah  and  his  sons,  everything  that  moveth 
shall  be  meat  for  you;  even  as  the  green  herb  have  I 
given  you  all  things.”  Without  such  a  positive  grant  from 
the  Creator,  man  could  have  had  no  more  right  to  take 
away  the  life  of  an  ox,  or  a  sheep,  than  he  has  to  imbrue 
his  hands  in  the  blood,  or  to  feast  on  the  flesh  of  his  fellow- 
men.  Accordingly,  the  Antediluvians,  notwithstanding 
their  enormous  crimes,  never  feasted  on  the  flesh  of  animals. 

Dr.  Dwight  has  hence  clearly  shown  that  infidels,  who 
deny  the  divine  revelation  of  the  Scriptures,  can  plead  no 
right  to  eat  the  flesh  of  animals. 

The  authority  for  killing  animals  dangerous  to  our  own 
lives  is  found  in  Genesis  ix.  “  Surely  your  blood  of  your 
lives,  will  I  require ;  at  the  hand  of  every  beast  will  I  re¬ 
quire  it;  and  at  the  hand  of  man.”  Under  the  Jewish 
law,  “  the  ox  which  gored  a  man  or  woman  was  com¬ 
manded  to  be  stoned.”  This  law  implies  that  ferocious 
and  dangerous  animals  may  be  anticipated  in  the  act  of 
destroying  human  life,  by  being  themselves  put  to  death. 

678.  Although  the  inferior  animals  are  subjected  to  our 
use  by  their  Creator,  no  permission  is  granted  us  to  treat 
them  with  neglect,  harshness,  or  cruelty,  or  to  kill  them 
for  the  sake  of  sport  and  amusement.  And,  therefore, 
the  man  who  wantonly  takes  away  the  lives  of  birds, 
hares,  fishes,  and  other  animals,  for  the  mere  gratification 
of  a  taste  for  hunting  or  fishing,  can  scarcely  be  excul¬ 
pated  from  the  charge  of  a  breach  of  this  commandment. 

]f  man’s  convenience,  health. 

Or  safety  interfere,  his  rights  and  claims 
Are  paramount,  and  must  extinguish  theirs. 

Else  they  are  all — the  meanest  things  that  are — 

As  free  to  live,  and  to  enjoy  that  life, 

As  God  was  free  to  form  them  at  the  first, 

Who  in  his  sovereign  wisdom  made  them  all.  Cowper. 


316 


CAPITA].  PUNISHMENT. 


II.  Capital  Punishment. 

679.  Upon  this  question  a  diversity  of  opinion  has  long 
existed,  and  still  exists.  Several  able  volumes  have  lately 
ap])eared  on  both  sides  of  the  question,  whether  it  is  ex¬ 
pedient  or  right  to  inflict  the  punishment  of  death  even 
for  the  greatest  of  crimes  against  man — that  of  murder. 

The  crime  of  murder,  is  taking  away  a  person’s  life, 
with  design ;  and  without  proper  reason  or  authority. 

The  divine  law  concerning  murder  has  already  been 
quoted  from  Gen.  ix.,  and  requires,  as  has  been  generally 
thought,  that  the  murderer  should  be  put  to  death : 
“  Whoso  sheddeth  man’s  blood,  by  man  shall  his  blood 
be  shed.” 

The  national  code  of  the  Jews  inserted,  by  divine 
authority,  the  punishment  of  death  for  a  few  other  crimes 
beside  murdei'.  This  punishment  was  not  merely  per¬ 
mitted,  but  was  required  to  be  inflicted.  In  the  case  of 
murder,  the  punishment  of  death  was  affixed  to  it  before 
the  formation  of  the  Jewish  commonwealth;  it  was  re¬ 
quired  to  be  inflicted  by  man,  without  reference  to  any  par¬ 
ticular  civil  polity  ;  and  the  reason  assigned  for  this  punish¬ 
ment  is  applicable  in  all  ages,  in  all  states  of  society,  and  in 
all  countries  ;  “  for  in  the  image  of  God  made  He  man.” 

Now  the  question  that  ought  to  settle  the  whole  dis¬ 
pute,  in  regard  at  least  to  the  proper  mode  of  disposing 
of  tlie  crime  of  murder,  is  this  :  “  Will  not  the  Judge  of 
the  whole  earth  do  right  ]”  He  has  decided  that  such  a 
punishment  is  due  to  murder,  from  man  to  man;  he  re¬ 
enacted  the  law  under  the  Jewish  polity,  of  which  He 
was  the  civil  as  well  as  religious  head ;  he  imposed  a 
similar  punishment  for  other  crimes;  and  He  is  the  su¬ 
preme  disposer,  because  the  author,  of  human  life.  It 
would  appear,  then,  that  other  nations,  as  well  as  the  Jews, 
are  required  to  punish  murder  with  death,  and  are  not  at 
liberty  to  impose  a  milder  penalty.  To  inflict  such  a  pen¬ 
alty  cannot  be  considered  wrong  or  inexpedient,  without 
impugning  both  the  wisdom  and  the  justice  of  God. 

680.  The  fear  of  sudden  and  violent  death  conveys 
more  terror  than  any  that  enters  the  human  heart. 

“The  weariest  and  most  loathed  worldly  life 
That  age,  ache,  penury,  and  imprisonment 
Can  lay  on  nature,  is  a  paradise 
To  what  we  fear  of  death.” 


CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT. 


317 


It  startles  and  shocks  the  sovereign  instinct  of  nature ; 
imprisonment  does  not.  It  excludes  earthly  hope  :  in  the 
solitary  cell,  Hope  sits  by  the  prisoner,  and  makes  his  lot 
a  cheerful  one.  Pardon,  revolution,  a  thousand  incidents, 
may  open  the  door  of  the  prison,  but  not  of  the  grave. 

Nay,  why  is  it  that  this  punishment  is  opposed  by  a 
puling  philanthropy  1  Because  it  is  terrihle.  For  this 
very  reason,  all  who  would  not  light  the  torch  and  whet 
the  knife  of  the  midnight  murderer,  all  who  would  not 
have  the  dark  form  of  Murder  bending  over  the  couch  of 
innocence,  and  the  fear  of  it  mingling  with  every  moment 
of  the  life  of  weakness,  desire  to  see  it  retained.  It  is 
better  that  guilt  should  die  than  that  innocence  should 
bleed.  God  makes  death  the  wages  of  sin  ;  and  the  pity 
that  would  repeal  the  law  is  unwise,  if  it  be  not  guilty. 

[N.  American.] 

It  is  but  a  short  time  since  that  a  man  convicted  of 
murder  in  the  state  of  New  Hampshire,  or  Vermont,  de¬ 
clared  that  he  would  not  have  committed  it,  if  he  had  not 
supposed  that  imprisonment,  only,  would  have  been  the 
penalty.  Even  with  all  the  terrors  of  the  death-penalty, 
how  astonishingly  frequent  is  the  crime  of  murder.  Would 
it  be  safe  to  commute  it  for  a  milder  punishment  1 

681.  It  brings  upon  one  of  our  brethren  of  the  human 
family,  what  human  nature  abhors  and  dreads  most ;  it 
cuts  him  off'  from  all  the  enjoyments  of  this  life  at  once,, 
and  sends  him  into  another,  for  which  possibly  he  was  not 
yet  prepared  ;  it  defaces  the  image,  and  defeats  the  de¬ 
sign  of  God  ;  it  overturns  the  great  purpose  of  human 
government  and  laws — mutual  safety  ;  it  robs  society  of  a 
member,  and  consequently  of  a  part  of  its  strength  ;  it 
robs  the  relations,  friends,  and  dependents  of  the  person 
destroyed,  of  every  benefit  and  pleasure  which  else  they 
might  have  had  from  him  ;  and  the  injury  done  in  all 
these  respects  has  the  terrible  aggravation,  that  it  cannot 
be  recalled. 

Most  wisely,  therefore,  has  our  Creator  surrounded 
murder  with  a  peculiar  terror;  that  nature,  as  well  as 
reason,  may  deter  from  it  every  one  who  is  not  utterly 
abandoned  to  the  worst  of  wickedness ;  and  most  justly 
has  he  appointed  the  sons  oi  Noah,  that  is,  all  mankind, 
to  punish  death  with  death.  And  that  nothing  may  pro¬ 
tect  so  daring  an  offender,  he  enjoined  the  Jews,  in  the 


318 


CAPITAL  PUNISHMENT. 


chapter  which  follows  the  Ten  Commandments:  “If  a 
man  come  presumptuously  upon  his  neighbor  to  slay 
him  with  guile,  thou  shalt  take  him  from  mine  altar  that 
he  may  die.” 

GS2.  God  has  discouraged  murder,  by  teaching  men 
in  his  providence,  that  in  most  cases  it  shall  not  escape 
detection.  “  Such  a  secret,”  says  Daniel  Webster,  “  can 
be  safe  nowhere.  The  whole  creation  of  God  has  neither 
nook  nor  corner,  where  the  guilty  can  bestow  it  and  say 
it  is  safe.  Not  to  speak  of  that  eye  which  glances  through 
all  disguises,  and  beholds  everything  as  in  the  splendor  of 
noon ;  such  secrets  of  guilt  are  never  safe  from  detection 
even  by  man.  Providence  hath  so  ordained,  and  doth  so 
govern  things,  that  those  who  break  the  great  law  of 
heaven,  by  shedding  man’s  blood,  seldom  succeed  in 
avoiding  discovery.  A  thousand  eyes  turn  at  once  to 
explore  every  man,  every  thing,  every  circumstance, 
connected  with  the  time  and  place :  a  thousand  ears 
catch  every  whisper  :  a  thousand  excited  minds  intensely 
dwell  on  the  scene;  shedding  all  their  light,  and  ready 
to  kindle  the  slightest  circumstance  into  a  blaze  of  dis¬ 
covery. 

“  Meantime,  the  guilty  soul  cannot  keep  its  own  secret : 
it  is  false  to  itself;  or  rather,  it  feels  an  irresistible  im¬ 
pulse  of  conscience  to  be  true  to  itself;  it  labors  under 
its  guilty  possession,  and  knows  not  what  to  do  with  it. 
It  must  be  confessed ;  it  will  be  confessed  :  there  is  no 
refuge  from  confession  but  suicide;  and  suicide  is  con¬ 
fession.” 

Further,  supposing,  what  seldom  happens,  that  the 
murderer  may  escape  judicial  vengeance ;  yet  what 
piercing  reflections,  what  continual  teiTors  and  alarms 
must  he  carry  about  with  him !  And  could  he  be 
hardened  against  these,  it  would  only  subject  him  the 
more  inevitably  to  that  future  condemnation,  from  which 
nothing  but  the  deepest  repentance  in  this  life  can  pos¬ 
sibly  exempt  him.  For  no  murderer  hath  eternal  life; 
but  they  “  shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake  that  burneth 
with  fire  and  brimstone,  which  is  the  second  death.” 
1  John  iii.  15  ;  Rev.  xxi.  8. 

But  while  murder  must  be  punished  with  death,  and 
there  is  authority  given,  from  the  example  of  the  divine 
government  over  the  Jews,  to  punish  some  other  crimes 


SELF-DEFENSE. 


319 


in  the  same  manner,  the  general  spirit  of  the  Gospel  and 
of  reason  seems  to  allow  of  milder  punishments  in  other 
cases  beside  murder,  when  the  safety  of  society  may  be 
equally  well,  or  sufficiently  guarded. 

683.  To  render  the  punishment  of  murder,  by  death, 
lawful,  “  it  is  ever  to  be  remembered,  that  even  when 
the  punishment  of  death  is  lawfully  to  be  inflicted,  it  can 
be  warrantably  executed  only  by  the  magistrate  ;  and  by 
him,  only  when  acting  according  to  the  decisions  of  law. 
Private  individuals  have  no  more  right  to  interfere,  than 
if  the  man  condemned  were  innocent ;  and  were  they  to 
lay  violent  hands  on  him,  although  proved  to  be  guilty, 
and  rightfully  condemned,  they  would  themselves  be¬ 
come  murderers.  Nor  can  the  judge  lawfully  condemn 
any  man,  whatever  he  may  think  concerning  the  recti¬ 
tude  of  the  decision,  unless,  upon  adequate  legal  testi¬ 
mony,  fairly  exhibited  in  open  court,  and  in  exact  con¬ 
formity  to  the  modes  of  trial  by  law  established.  Neither 
can  the  executive  magistrate  warrantably  do  anything,  in 
a  case  of  this  nature,  beside  mei’ely  executing  the  sen¬ 
tence  of  the  judge ;  whether  he  esteems  that  sentence 
just  or  unjust.  The  time,  the  manner,  and  the  circum¬ 
stances  of  execution,  ordered  by  law,  he  is  bound  ex¬ 
actly  to  observe.  A  criminal,  although  condemned  to 
death,  may,  instead  of  being  executed,  be  murdered ; 
and  that  as  truly  as  any  other  man.  The  sheriff,  also, 
can  easily  lay  aside  the  character  of  a  magistrate,  and 
assume  that  of  a  murderer.  At  the  same  time,  all  magis¬ 
trates,  in  whatever  station  they  act,  are  indispensably 
prohibited  from  the  exercise  of  hatred,  or  I’evenge,  in 
every  form  and  degree  against  the  criminal.” 

[Dr.  Dwight ;  Dick’s  Lectures,] 


III.  Talcing  of  Life  in  Self-defense. 

684.  When  a  man  is  attacked,  he  is  at  liberty  to  de¬ 
fend  himself;  and  if,  in  the  conflict,  the  intending  mur¬ 
derer  shall  fall,  no  moralist  would  say  that  the  defender 
was  guilty  of  murder,  provided  that  he  honestly  thought 
that  no  means  of  saving  himself  were  left,  but  the  taking 
away  of  the  life  of  the  aggressor.  Assuredly  he  was  not 
bound  to  be  more  careful  of  the  life  of  his  enemy  than 
his  own. 


320 


WAK. 


In  snch  a  case  the  law  can  afford  him  no  protection ; 
he  must  use  the  power  which  God  has  given  him,  to  pre¬ 
serve  the  most  valuable  of  all  his  possessions,  to  ward  off 
an  injury  which  can  never  be  repaired.  Human  laws 
accord  the  same  right  in  defense  of  our  property,  when 
an  attempt  is  made  to  take  it  from  us  by  violence. 

IV.  Wars. 

685.  To  the  question,  how  far  wars,  that  destroy  so 
many  lives,  are  consistent  with  the  Sixth  Commandment, 
the  plain  answer  is,  that  they  are  justifiable  only  on  the 
plea  of  self-defense ;  that  we  may  make  war  and  destroy 
our  enemies  when  we  are  unjustly  attacked,  for  we  are 
acting  the  same  part,  on  a  more  extended  scale,  with  the 
individual  who  resists  the  housebreaker,  the  highway¬ 
man,  and  the  assassin  :  but  that  wars  of  aggression,  wars 
which  have  no  just  cause  in  the  conduct  of  our  an¬ 
tagonist,  are  unlawful ;  and  that,  i7i  the  sight  of  God, 
every  life  which  is  taken  away  in  the  prosecution  of  them 
is  a  murder. 

An  incalculable  amount  of  guilt  is  accumulated,  there¬ 
fore,  upon  all  the  nations  of  the  world  ;  and  dreadful  will 
the  reckoning  be  with  the  rulers  of  the  earth,  when  God 
shall  make  inquiry  after  blood. 

That  war,  in  itself,  is  not  unlawful  in  all  cases,  may  be 
inferred  fiom  the  fact,  that  various  wars,  as  we  learn 
from  Scripture,  have  been  “  commanded,  approved,  and 
miraculously  prospered  by  God  himself ;  and  it  is  im¬ 
possible  that  God  should  either  command,  or  approve  of 
that  which  is  wrong.” 

686.  Defensive  war  cannot  entirely  be  dispensed  with; 
for  the  oppressive  and  covetous  dispositions  of  mankind 
would  lead  them  to  overrun,  rob,  and  destroy  the  nation 
that  should  act  on  the  principle  that  even  defensive  war 
is  unlawful. 

Causes  of  Aggressive  and  Unjust  Wars. 

687.  (1.)  There  is  a  general  indifference  or  ignorance 
respecting  the  injustice  and  criminality  of  war  in  most 
cases,  arising  from  want  of  inquiry,  and  from  familiarity 
wdth  warlike  preparations  and  circumstances.  War  is 
too  generally  regarded  as  a  matter  to  be  expected  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  events. 


CAUSES  OF  AGGRESSIVE  WARS. 


321 


(2.)  Another  cause  of  our  complacency  with  war,  and, 
therefore,  another  cause  of  war  itself,  consists  in  that 
insensibility  to  human  misery  which  the  custom  induces. 
They  who  are  shocked  at  a  single  murder  on  the  high¬ 
way,  hear  with  indifference  of  the  slaughter  of  a  thousand 
on  the  field.  If  a  murder  is  committed,  the  public  prints 
speak  of  it  as  a  shocking  and  horrible  affair  :  if  five  thou¬ 
sand,  and  especially  if  fifty  thousand  of  an  enemy  are 
slaughtered  by  our  own  men,  it  is  a  brilliant,  beautiful, 
glorious  affair ! 

(3.)  Nations  are  apt  to  be  haughty  and,  irritable  in 
their  intercourse  with  other  nations.  He  that  is  pre¬ 
pared  to  be  offended  readily  finds  offenses.  A  jealous 
sensibility  sees  insults  and  injuries  where  sober  eyes  see 
nothing :  the  man  who  is  always  on  the  alert  to  discover 
trespasses  on  his  honor  pr  his  rights,  never  fails  to  quarrel 
with  his  neighbors ;  and  why  should  not  the  same  be 
true  of  princes,  presidents,  cabinets,  nations  I 

This  national  honor  (says  Dr.  E.  Mason),  of  which  so 
many  speak,  is  a  very  impalpable,  intangible  thing. 
What  is  it]  Wherein  does  it  consist]  For  my  own 
part,  I  know  of  but  one  standard  of  honor,  for  an  indi¬ 
vidual  or  nation ;  and  that  is  doing  right.  Glory  is 
essentially  and  eternally  connected  with  right-doing ; 
and  shame  is  eternally  and  essentially  connected  with 
wrong-doing.  Rather  than  my  country  should  do  wrong, 
I  would  give  up  everything  in  dispute.  It  is  better, 
more  honorable,  more  ennobling  to  a'nation,  as  well  as 
an  individual,  to  yield  to  an  unjust  claim,  than  to  secure 
even  admitted  rights  by  unjust  means. 

(4.)  War  is  a  source  of  pecuniary  profit  to  numerous 
individuals,  and  establishes  professions  which  are  very 
convenient,  particularly  in  some  countries,  to  the  middle 
and  higher  ranks  of  life. 

(5.)  It  gratifies  the  ambition  of  public  men,  civil  and 
military,  and  serves  the  purposes  of  private  and  state 
policy,  that  are  not  often  revealed  to  the  national  eye. 
Cabinets  often  talk  in  public  of  invasions  of  right,  or 
breaches  of  treaty,  of  the  support  of  honor,  of  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  retaliation,  when  these  motives  have  no  influence 
on  their  determinations. 

(6.)  Notions  of  glory  are  attached  to  warlike  affairs; 
which  glory,  however,  is  factitious  and  impure.  The 

o* 


322 


EVILS  OF  WAR. 


glories  of  battle,  and  of  those  who  perish  in  it,  or  who 
return  in  triumph  to  their  country,  are  favorite  topics  of 
declamation  with  the  historian,  the  biographer,  and  the 
poet.  “  As  long  as  mankind,”  says  Gibbon,  ‘‘  shall  con¬ 
tinue  to  bestow  more  liberal  applause  on  their  destroyers 
than  on  their  benefactors,  the  thirst  of  military  glory  will 
ever  be  the  vice  of  the  most  exalted  characters.” 

688.  It  is  evidently  our  duty  to  endeavor  to  avoid  or 
remove  these  causes  of  war,  since  they  do  not  constitute 
any  justification  of  an  evil  so  enormous. 

Consequences  of  War. 

689.  (1.)  Every  battle  entails  agonizing  sufferings,  and 
irreparable  deprivations  upon  private  life.  There  are 
often  thousands  thus  made  to  weep  in  unpitied  and  un¬ 
noticed  secrecy,  whom  the  world  does  not  see.  The 
loss  of  a  protector  or  a  friend  is  ill  repaid  by  empty  glory. 

(2.)  The  great  destruction  of  human  life  in  protracted 
wars  is  to  be  considered.  From  1145  to  1815,  an  interval 
of  six  hundred  and  seventy  years,  England  was  at  war 
with  France  two  hundred  and  sixty-six  years:  if  to  this 
be  added  wars  with  other  countries,  it  is  estimated  that 
one  half  of  the  last  six  or  seven  centui’ies  has  been  spent 
in  w'ar  by  that  country.  It  is  impossible  now  to  compute 
how  many  millions  of  men  these  centuries  of  slaughter 
have  cut  off ;  and  still  more  difficult  to  estimate  the  sum 
total  of  the  misery  of  their  deaths,  and  of  the  number¬ 
less  bereavements  thus  occasioned. 

Since  the  origin  of  the  race  of  man,  it  has  been  esti¬ 
mated  that  more  than  fourteen  thousand  millions  have 
been  destroyed  by  war.  One  tenth  of  our  race  have  been 
slaughtered  by  the  demon  of  war.  What  a  horrible  fact 
for  contemplation  is  it,  if  this  estimate  be  correct,  that 
eighteen  ivorlds  of  human  population  have  been  mas¬ 
sacred,  and  cut  to  pieces  in  mutual  wars,  as  if  they  had 
been  made  for  no  better  end  than  to  be  butchered  by 
one  another  !  For  other  illustrations  of  the  evils  of  war, 
consult  Dick’s  Philosophy  of  Religion,  chap.  iv.  sec.  1. 

(3.)  The  enormous  expense  of  war  is  another  item  to  be 
considered.  The  nine  years'  war,  beginning  with  1739, 
cost  England  over  three  hundred  millions  of  dollars. 
War  is  the  grand  cause  of  national  derts,  and  brintrs 
upon  a  peoidc  the  burden  of  heavy  taxation,  in  addition 


EVILS  OF  WAR. 


323 


to  many  other  burdens  too  grievous  to  be  bonie.  Be¬ 
side,  national  conflicts  put  a  stop  to  the  productive  in¬ 
dustry  of  the  nations  concerned,  because  it  turns  the  public 
mind  to  other  enterprises.  The  mental  activity  em¬ 
ployed  is  engaged  in  desti'oying,  notin  promoting  human 
happiness.  War  takes  away  from  the  means  of  national 
advancement,  because  it  prostrates  all  those  branches  of 
human  industry  which  are  not  needed  in  carrying  on  the 
war.  The  enormous  waste  of  means  is  so  much  taken 
from  every  department  of  business.  The  question  is 
too  much  neglected  by  statesmen,  whether  a  greater 
mass  of  human  suffering,  and  a  greater  loss  of  human 
enjoyment  is  not  occasioned  by  the  pecuniary  distresses 
of  a  war,  than  any  ordinary  advantages  of  a  war  com¬ 
pensate. 

The  waste  of  war  has  been  beautifully  represented  in 
the  following  terms  :  “  Give  me  the  money  that  has 
been  spent  in  war,  and  I  will  purchase  every  foot  of  land 
on  the  globe.  I  will  clothe  every  man,  woman,  and  child 
in  an  attire  that  kings  and  queens  might  be  proud  of.  I 
will  build  a  school-house  in  every  valley  over  the  earth. 
I  will  supply  that  school-house  with  a  competent  teacher. 
I  will  build  an  academy  in  every  town,  and  endow  it — 
a  college  in  every  state,  and  fill  it  with  able  professors. 
I  will  crown  every  hill  with  a  church  consecrated  to  the 
promulgation  of  the  gospel  of  peace.  I  will  support  in 
its  pulpit  an  able  teacher  of  righteousness,  so  that  on 
every  Sabbath  morning  the  chime  on  one  hill  shall  an¬ 
swer  to  the  chime  on  another,  around  the  earth’s  broad 
circumference,  and  the  voice  of  prayer  and  the  song  of 
praise  shall  ascend  as  one  universal  offering  to  heaven.” 

(4.)  But  war  does  more  harm  to  the  morals  of  men  than 
even  to  their  property  and  persons.  How  enormous  then 
must  its  mischiefs  be  !  “  War  is  a  system  out  of  which 

almost  all  the  virtues  are  excluded,  and  in  which  nearly 
all  the  vices  are  incorporated.” 

The  obedience  to  arbitrary  power  which  war  exacts  of 
the  subordinate  officers  and  the  soldiers,  possesses  more  of 
the  character  of  servility,  and  even  of  slavery,  than  we 
are  accustomed  to  suppose. 

Shakspeare,  with  his  inimitable  knowledge  of  life, 
makes  Henry  V.,  in  addressing  his  troops,  say,  “  And 
when  the  blast 'of  war  blows  in  our  ears,  then  imitate  the 


324 


CRUELTY  AND  IMMORALITY  OF  WAR. 


action  of  the  tiger  !”  In  the  track  of  a  victorious  army 
have  been  too  often  witnessed  robberies,  murders,  viola¬ 
tion  of  helpless  females,  beastly  intoxication,  and  every 
species  of  enormity.  In  full  keeping  with  this  brutalizing 
spirit,  Bonaparte  is  reported  to  have  said,  “  The  readiest 
way  to  govern  men  is  by  their  vices,  and  if  they  have 
none,  they  must  be  taught  to  contract  them.”  And  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  is  reported  to  have  said,  “  that  a 
soldier  has  no  business  with  principles,  or  a  conscience  ; 
his  only  business  being  to  obey  orders.”  The  latter  in¬ 
dividual,  accordingly,  as  commander-in-chief  of  the  British 
forces,  has  lately  issued  (1846)  his  order,  abolishing  and 
forbidding  temperance  societies  through  the  entire  army  ; 
his  object,  doubtless,  being,  to  prepare  the  soldier,  in  case 
of  war,  so  to  be  brutalized  by  intoxicating  drinks,  that 
in  the  blindness  and  madness  of  their  excitement  they 
may  fight  like  demons.  This  is  the  spirit  that  led  some 
of  the  French  soldiers,  in  the  war  in  Prussia,  to  amuse 
themselves  with  throwing  children  into  the  flames,  and 
stabbing  infants  at  their  mothers’  breasts. 

[N.  Y.  Observer.] 

Not  only  is  war  degrading  and  demoralizing  to  the 
soldier,  but  to  the  community  that  employs  him.  During 
a  war,  a  whole  people,  in  common  with  the  soldier,  be¬ 
come  familiarized  with  the  utmost  excesses  of  enormity, 
and  they  exult  in  them,  and  thus  the  hearts  of  mankind 
are  rendered  callous  to  the  sentiments  of  humanity  and 
justice.  Feelings  of  retaliation  and  revenge  are  fostered, 
and  these  are  most  opposite  to  Christianity.  When  a 
war  is  in  contemplation,  or  has  been  commenced,  its  pro¬ 
moter's  animate  their  countrymen,  by  every  artifice,  to 
hatred,  and  animosity,  and  malignity.  Under  these  cir¬ 
cumstances  Christianity  cannot  flourish.  War  and  Chris¬ 
tianity  are  like  the  opposite  ends  of  a  balance,  of  which 
one  is  depressed  by  the  elevation  of  another. 

[Dymond’s  Essays.] 

5.)  War,  in  most  cases,  cannot  be  justified  as  being 
a  rational  mode  of  settling  national  differences;  which, 
after  all  the  horrors  of  war  have  been  experienced  on 
both  sides,  must,  in  most  cases,  be  settled  by  negotiation, 
treaty,  or  arbitration — methods  of  settlement  that  might, 
and  should  have  been  resorted  to  at  first. 

A  perfect  Illustration  of  the  absurdity  of  war  is  vividly 


THE  ABSURDITY  OF  WAR. 


825 


presented  in  the  following  account,  by  a  Scotch  writer,  of 
a  scene  he  once  saw  in  Nithsdale. 

The  Nithsdale  Boys. 

690.  Two  boys  from  different  schools  met  one  fine  day 
upon  the  ice.  They  eyed  each  other  with  rather  jealous 
and  indignant  looks,  and  with  defiance  on  each  brow. 
“  What  are  ye  glowrin’  at,  Billy  “  What’s  that  to 
you  !  I’ll  look  where  I  have  a  mind,  an’  hinder  me  if 
you  daur.”  A  hearty  blow  was  the  return  to  this,  and 
then  a  battle  began.  It  being  Saturday,  all  the  boys  of 
both  schools  were  on  the  ice,  and  the  fight  instantly  be¬ 
came  general  and  desperate.  I  asked  one  of  the  party 
what  they  were  pelting  the  others  for.  “  O,  naething  at 
a’,  man ;  we  just  want  to  gie  them  a  good  thrashing.” 
After  fighting  till  they  were  quite  exhausted,  one  of  the 
principal  heroes  stepped  up  between,  covered  with  blood, 
and  his  clothes  with  tatters,  and  addressed  the  belligerent 
parties  thus :  “  Weel,  I’ll  tell  ye  what  we’ll  do  wi’  ye  :  if 
ye’ll  let  us  alane,  we’ll  let  ye  alane.”  There  was  no 
more  of  it :  the  war  was  at  an  end,  and  the  boys  scam¬ 
pered  away  to  their  play. 

I  thought  at  the  time  (says  the  Scotch  writer),  and 
have  often  thought  since,  that  that  trivial  affray  was  the 
best  epitome  of  war  in  general  that  I  had  ever  seen. 
Kings  and  ministers  of  state  are  just  a  set  of  grown  up 
children,  exactly  like  the  children  I  speak  of,  with  only 
this  material  difference,  that  instead  of  fighting  out  the 
needless  quarrels  they  have  raised,  they  sit  in  safety  and 
look  on,  send  out  their  innocent  but  servile  subjects  to 
battle,  and  then,  after  a  waste  of  blood  and  treasure,  are 
glad  to  make  the  boys’  conditions,  “  If  ye’ll  let  us  alane, 
we’ll  let  ye  alane.” 

Such  being  the  absurdity,  and  such  the  criminality, 
and  such  the  painful  and  hideous  consequences  of  war, 
with  grateful  hearts  we  read  in  holy  writ  of  those  better 
times  in  prospect,  when,  in  the  language  of  Pope,  bor¬ 
rowed  from  the  Hebrew  prophet — 

“  No  more  shall  nation  against  nation  rise, 

Nor  ardent  warriors  meet  with  hateful  eyes  ; 

Nor  fields  with  gleaming  steel  be  covered  o’er. 

The  brazen  trumpets  kindle  rage  no  more  ; 

But  useless  lances  into  scythes  shall  bend. 

And  the  broad  falchion  in  a  ploughshare  end.” 


326 


SUICIDE. 


V.  Suicide. 

691.  The  sixth  precept  is  justly  understood  to  forbid 
suicide ;  and  for  this  reason  :  that  we  have  not  absolute 
power  over  our  own  life,  but  are  bound  to  retain  and 
employ  it  to  the  ends  for  which  it  was  bestowed,  till  the 
gift  is  resumed  by  the  Giver. 

692.  Disgust  at  life  will  not  justify  self-murder :  be¬ 
cause  it  can  exist  only  in  an  ungrateful  and  vicious  mind  ; 
nor  can  severe  affliction,  which,  coming  from  the  hand  of 
God,  it  is  our  duty  to  bear  with  patience  ;  nor  can  the 
apprehension  of  evil,  which  may  not  befall  us,  and  to 
which,  if  it  did  come,  we  should  be  bound  to  submit 
without  a  murmur. 

Life  is  an  appointed  time,  measured  out  to  us  by  the 
wisdom  of  God ;  it  is  a  race  which  we  must  run  till  we 
arrive  at  the  goal. 

As  we  are  not  to  commit  violence  against  the  image  of 
God  in  the  person  of  any  of  our  fellow-men,  so  neither 
in  our  own  :  as  we  are  not  to  rob  the  society  to  which 
we  belong,  or  any  part  of  it,  of  the  service  which  any 
other  of  its  members  might  do  to  it,  we  are  not  to  rob  it 
either  of  what  we  might  do  :  as  we  are  not  to  send  any 
one  else  prematui'ely  out  of  the  world,  we  are  not  to  send 
ourselves,  but  wait  with  patience  all  the  days  of  our  ap¬ 
pointed  time,  till  our  change  come. 

If  the  sins  which  persons  have  committed  prompt 
them  to  despair,  they,  of  all  others,  instead  of  rushing 
into  the  presence  of  God  by  adding  this  dreadful  one 
to  them,  should  earnestly  desire  space  to  repent,  which, 
by  his  grace,  the  worst  of  sinners  may  do,  and  be  for¬ 
given. 

693.  Beside  the  violation  of  the  duties  just  specified, 
when  persons,  in  any  case,  make  way  with  themselves, 
they,  by  that  act,  arraign  the  constitution  of  things  which 
God  hath  appointed  ;  and  refuse  living  where  he  hath 
put  them  to  live — a  very  provoking  instance  of  unduti¬ 
fulness,  which  is  rendered  peculiarly  fatal  by  this  circum¬ 
stance,  that,  leaving  usually  no  room  for  repentance,  it 
leaves  none  for  pardon  :  always  excepting  where  it  pro¬ 
ceeds  from  a  mind  so  disordered  by  a  bodily  disease  as 
to  be  incapable  of  judging  or  acting  reasonably;  for  God 
knows  with  certainty  when  this  is  the  case  and  when  not. 


DUELING. 


32^ 


and  will  accordingly  either  make  due  allowances,  or  make 
none.  [Seeker  ;  Professor  Dick. 


VI.  Dueling. 

694.  It  may  easily  be  shown  that  dueling  is  a  flagrant 
breach  of  the  Sixth  Commandment.  The  challenge  to  a 
duel  is  a  proposition  to  kill  or  be  killed :  it  is  given  and 
accepted  deliberately  with  such  an  understanding  :  deadly 
weapons  are  used,  and  at  such  short  distances  as  may 
generally  secure  the  horrible  result :  not  unfrequently 
both  parties  in  a  duel  mortally  wound  each  other :  pro¬ 
fessed  duelists  prepare  themselves  by  long  practice  to  en¬ 
gage  in  the  work  of  killing  an  antagonist  with  facility  and 
precision  :  the  work  of  death  in  such  cases  is  most  com¬ 
monly  perpetrated  with  feelings  of  hatred  and  revenge :  it 
is  also  done  in  most  cases  under  very  slight  provocations. 

In  view  of  all  these  things  it  possesses  attributes  of  a 
gross  criminality,  such  as  belong  to  few  other  kinds  of 
murder.  Wherever  human  life  is  delibei'ately  taken 
away,  otherwise  than  by  public  authority,  there  is  mur¬ 
der.  No  other  definition  of  murder  can  be  admitted  with¬ 
out  letting  in  so  much  private  violence,  as  to  render  so¬ 
ciety  a  scene  of  peril  and  bloodshed.  But  this  definition 
makes  dueling,  murder. 

695.  Dueling,  as  a  punishment,  is  absurd:  because  it 
is  an  equal  chance,  whether  the  punishment  fall  upon  the 
offender,  or  the  person  offended. 

Nor  is  it  much  better  as  a  reparation  ;  it  being  difficult 
to  explain  in  what  the  satisfaction  consists,  or  how  it  tends 
to  undo  the  injury,  or  to  afford  a  compensation  for  the 
damage  already  sustained. 

The  truth  is,  it  is  not  considered  as  either;  but  simply 
as  an  expedient  to  pi’event,  in  the  view  of  a  corrupt  sen¬ 
timent,  the  imputation  of  cowardice  on  receiving  or  giving 
an  affront.  Challenges  are  given  and  accepted,  to  pre¬ 
serve  a  duelist’s  reputation  and  reception  among  those 
who  uphold  what  is  falsely  called  the  law  of  honor.  For 
i-easons  already  assigned,  it  might  more  properly  be  des¬ 
ignated  the  LAW  OF  INFAMY — and  deeply  is  it  to  be  regret¬ 
ted  that  it  had  not  been  viewed  as  such  by  Alexander 
Hamilton  and  many  other  brilliant  American  citizens,  who 
have  sacrificed  theniselves  to  uphold  its  murderous  de¬ 
mands. 


328 


CAUSES  OF  MURDER  FORBIDDEN. 


Hence  it  becomes  the  duty  of  all,  to  discourage  and 
condemn  the  practice  of  dueling — to  brand  it  with  infamy 
— and  to  uphold  the  laws  of  the  land,  which  require  the 
parties  to  it  to  be  dealt  with  as  murderers. 

The  law  of  God  should  stand,  though  the  law  of  honor 
(falsely  so  called)  should  fall.  There  can  be  no  honor 
in  dishonorinsf  and  violating  the  law  of  God,  which  is  the 
only  sure  basis  of  public  and  private  happiness — the  only 
correct  standard  of  honorable  feeling  and  of  honorable 
action.  [Dwight  and  Paley.] 

VII.  Other  Prohibitions  of  the  Sixth  Precept. 

696.  (1.)  The  grand  prohibition  is  murder. 

As  to  the  manner  in  which  murder  is  committed, 
wnether  a  person  do  it  directly  himself,  or  employ  anoth¬ 
er  ;  whether  he  do  it  by  force,  or  fraud,  or  color  of  jus¬ 
tice  ;  accusing  falsely,  or  taking  any  undue  advantage  ; 
these  things  make  little  further  difference  in  the  guilt, 
than  that  the  most  artful  and  studied  way  is  generally  the 
worst. 

(2.)  Not  only  the  outward  act  of  murder  is  prohibited, 
but  all  the  causes  ivhich  lead  to  it :  such  as,  envy,  malice, 
revenge,  secret  wishes  of  evil  to  others,  and  imprecations 
of  evil,  unjust  and  excessive  anger,  and  fighting  of  every 
kind  between  man  and  man. 

If  we  do  a  person  no  harm,  yet  intend  or  wish  him 
harm,  the  apostle  John  has  stigmatized  the  act  as  a  spe¬ 
cies  of  murder  :  “  Whosoever  hateth  his  brother  is  a  mur¬ 
derer  P  For  indeed,  hatred  not  only  leads  to  murder,  and 
too  often,  when  indulged,  produces  it  unexpectedly  ;  but 
it  is  always,  though  perhaps  for  the  most  part  in  a  lower 
degree,  the  very  spirit  of  murder  in  the  heart,  and  it  is 
by  our  hearts  that  God  will  judge  us. 

Should  our  dislike  of  another  not  rise  to  fixed  hatred 
and  malice,  yet  if  it  rise  to  unjust  anger,  we  are  very 
criminal  in  our  Savior’s  view :  “  It  was  said  by  them  of 
old  time.  Thou  shalt  not  kill ;  and  whosoever  shall  kill 
shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judgment.  But  I  say  unto  you, 
that  whosoever  is  angry  with  his  brother  without  a  cause, 
shall  be  in  danger  of  the  judgment.”  (Matt.  v.  21.)  That 
is,  whosoever  is  angry,  either  with  persons  that  he  ought 
not ;  or  more  vehemently,  or  sooner,  or  longer,  than  he 
ought  to  be,  is  guilty  in  some  measure  of  that  unchari- 


OCCASIONS  OF  MURDER  FORBIDDEN. 


329 


tableness  of  which  murder  is  the  highest  act,  and  liable 
to  the  punishment  of  it  in  the  same  proportion. 

(3.)  If  a  person  does  not  directly  design  the  death  of 
another,  yet  if  he  designedly  does  what  he  knows  or  sus¬ 
pects  may  probably  occasion  it,  he  is,  in  proportion  to 
such  knowledge  or  suspicion,  guilty.  Nay,  if  he  is  only 
negligent  in  matters  which  may  affect  human  life,  or  med¬ 
dles  with  them  when  he  has  cause  to  think  he  understands 
them  not,  he  is  far  from  innocent;  and  there  are  several 
professions  and  employments  in  which  these  truths  ought 
to  be  considered  with  peculiar  seriousness  and  concern. 

“  The  spirit  of  the  precept  plainly  interdicts  all  those 
callings,  occupations,  and  practices  which  are  injurious  to 
tlie  health  or  safety  of  the  community,  such  as  the  manu¬ 
facture  or  sale  of  articles  of  diet  or  beverage  which  we 
have  every  reason  to  believe  will  be  abused,  to  the  hurl 
or  death  of  men’s  bodies,  to  say  nothing  of  the  effects 
upon  the  undying  soul.  In  like  manner  all  incompetent 
practice  of  the  medical  art ;  all  competing  trials  of  speed 
in  steamboats ;  all  pugilistic  combats,  and  whatever  goes 
to  wound,  cripple,  or  maim  the  body,  and  thus  endanger 
life,  comes  fairly  within  the  range  of  what  is  forbidden  by 
the  Sixth  Commandment.”  [Bush.] 

(4.)  If  it  be  criminal  to  contribute  in  any  manner  to¬ 
ward  taking  away  a  person’s  life  immediately,  it  must  be 
criminal  also  to  contribute  anything  toward  shortening  it, 
which  is  taking  it  away  gradually  ;  whether  by  bringing 
any  bodily  disease  upon  him,  or  causing  him  any  grief 
or  anxiety  of  mind,  or  by  what  indeed  will  produce  both, 
distressing  him  in  his  circumstances.  Indeed,  if  we  cause 
or  procure  any  sort  of  hurt  to  another,  though  it  hath  no 
tendency  to  deprive  him  of  life,  yet  if  it  makes  any  part 
of  his  life  more  or  less  uneasy,  we  deprive  him  so  far  of 
W'hat  makes  it  valuable  to  him,  which  is  equivalent  to 
taking  so  much  of  it  away  from  him. 

“  1  hesitate  notf  says  Dr.  Dwight,  “  to  pronounce  that 
unhindness,  which,  especially  when  exercised  toward  infe¬ 
riors  and  dependents,  wears  upon  the  sjnrits,  and  often 
breaks  the  hearts  of  our  fellow-creatures,  to  be  a  crime  of 
the  same  nature  as  murder.  In  order  to  shorten  human 
life,  it  is  not  necessary  to  use  a  bludgeon  nor  a  pistol. 
Servants  may  be  easily  brought  to  an  untimely  grave  by 
stinting  them  with  respect  to  their  necessary  food,  clothes. 


S30 


OCCASIONS  OF  MURDER  FORBIDDEN. 


lodging,  or  fuel ;  or  by  a  repetition  of  tasks,  unreasonably 
burdensome.  A  delicate  and  susceptible  child  may  be 
easily  driven  into  a  consumption  by  parental  coldness, 
fretfulness,  severity,  the  denial  of  necessary  indulgences, 
or  the  exaction  of  undue  compliances.  Mere  conjugal 
indifference  may  easily  break  the  heart  of  an  affectionate 
wife.” 

(5.)  The  command  not  to  take  away  our  own  life,  binds 
us  to  avoid  not  only  direct  suicide,  but  everything  which 
has  a  tendency  to  bring  our  life  to  an  untimely  end  ;  as 
feevishness,  frctfalness,  and  discontent,  immoderate  grief, 
anxious  care  about  our  worldly  affairs,  and  labor,  whether 
of  mind  or  body,  unnecessarily  submitted  to  beyond  our 
strength  ;  neglect  of  our  bodies,  by  withholding  due  nour¬ 
ishment  and  clothing,  and  carelessness  about  our  health  ; 

INTEMPERANCE  IN  EATING  AND  DRINKING,  and  eXpOsing 

ourselves  to  danger  without  a  lawful  call. 

Where  indeed  necessity  requires  great  hazards  to  be 
run  by  some  persons  for  the  good  of  others ;  as  in  war, 
in  extinfjuishino^  dancrerous  fires  in  several  cases  which 
might  be  named  ;  or  where  employments  and  professions 
which  somebody  must  undertake,  or  when  such  diligence 
in  any  employment  as  men  are  by  accidents  really  called 
to  use,  impair  health  and  shorten  life ;  there,  far  from 
being  thrown  away,  it  is  laudably  spent  in  the  service  of 
God  and  man.  But,  for  any  person  to  bring  on  himself 
an  untimely  end  by  adventurous  rashness,  by  ungoverned 
passion,  by  an  immoderate  anxiety,  or  by  an  obstinate  or 
careless  neglect  of  his  own  preservation,  is  unquestionably 
criminal.  And,  above  all,  doing  it  by  debauchery  or  im¬ 
moral  excess,  is  a  most  effectual  way  of  ruining  soul  and 
body  at  once. 

(6.)  However  criminal  it  is  to  destroy  or  impair  the 
life  of  the  body,  it  must  be  more  so  to  destroy  or  impair 
the  eternal  life,  or  happiness  of  the  soul.  If  it  be  unlaw¬ 
ful  to  kill  or  hurt  the  body,  or  to  overlook  men’s  worldly 
necessities;  much  more  is  it  to  destroy  or  endanger  the 
superior  life  of  the  soul,  or  in  any  way  endanger  it ;  or 
even  to  suffer  it  to  continue  in  danger  if  we  have  in  our 
power  the  proper  and  likely  means  of  delivering  it. 

[Seeker.] 


DRUNKENNESS. 


331 


VIII.  Drunkenness. 

697.  Drunkenness  is  treated  under  the  sixth  precept 
because,  as  we  have  hinted,  it  tends  greatly  to  abbreviate 
the  duration,  and  to  promote  the  wretchedness  of  human 
life.  Its  criminality  partakes  therefore  of  that  which  be¬ 
longs  to  suicide  by  an  act  of  violence. 

698.  There  are  other  circumstances  upon  which  its 
criminality  depends. 

(1.)  It  betrays  to  the  practice  of  other  sins.  Exciting 
the  passions,  it  leads  to  acts  of  theft,  robbery,  assaults  and 
bodily  injury  upon  others,  often  to  murder,  lewdness,  and 
other  acts  of  profligacy.  It  prepares  for  almost  any  crime. 

(2.)  It  disqualifies  men  for  the  duties  of  their  station, 
both  by  the  temporary  disorder  of  their  faculties,  and 
at  length  by  a  constant  incapacity  and  stupefaction. 
Hence — 

(3.)  There  must  be  included  a  ^oaste  of  property.  This 
arises  from  impairing  a  man’s  powers  of  mind  and  body 
for  profitable  business ;  also  from  the  consumption  of  time 
and  of  money  in  the  process  of  drinking,  and  in  the  ac- 
tendant  circumstances. 

(4.)  The  drunkard  destroys  his  reputation,  which  ac¬ 
cording  to  Solomon,  is  worth  more  than  “  great  riches.” 

(5.)  He  destroys  his  usefulness,  so  far  as  this  depends 
upon  business,  reputation,  money,  intellectual  and  moral 
energy. 

(6.)  He  greatly  injures  his  family,  by  depriving  them 
of  the  benefit  of  a  good  example,  and  by  setting  before 
them  the  most  virulent  contagion  of  a  bad  example,  indu¬ 
cing  imitation  :  also  by  depriving  his  childi’en  of  the 
benefits  of  a  good  scholastic  and  moral  and  religious 
education,  which  drunkenness  unfits  him  to  bestow  ;  by 
subjecting  his  family  to  painful  mortification  in  their 
feelings,  to  poverty  in  their  condition,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  to  terror  and  danger  from  his  personal  violence 
and  ferocity. 

(7.)  The  drunkard  not  only  (as  medical  men  have 
shown)  shortens  and  destroys  the  life  of  the  body,  but  in¬ 
flicts  deadly  wounds  (as  the  Bible  teaches  us)  upon  the 
more  valuable  part  of  man,  the  soul.  “  Be  not  deceived  : 
neither  fornicators,  nor  drunkards,  nor  revilers,  nor  ex¬ 
tortioners,  shall  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God.”  1  Cor.  vi. 


332 


DRUNKENNESS. 


9,  10.  Thus  is  drunkenness  prohibited  by  the  most  tre 
mendous  of  all  sanctions — exclusion  fi'om  eternal  life. 

(8.)  Drunkenness  is  a  social,  festive  vice ;  and  is  apt, 
beyond  any  vice  that  can  be  mentioned,  to  draw  in  others 
by  the  example.  Whole  neighborhoods  are  often  infected 
by  the  contagion  of  a  single  example.  Hence  the  guilt 
of  this  crime,  when  considered  with  reference  to  the  indi¬ 
vidual  himself  and  his  family,  is  augmented  by  its  neces¬ 
sary  and  easily  foreseen  consequences  of  wide-spread 
mischief  to  others. 

699.  An  important  question  may  here  be  discussed,  as  to 
how  far  drunkenness  is  an  excuse  for  crimes  committed. 

(1.)  We  will  suppose  the  drunken  person  to  be  alto¬ 
gether  deprived  of  moral  agency,  that  is  to  say,  of  all  re¬ 
flection  and  foresight.  In  this  condition,  it  is  evident  that 
he  is  no  more  capable  of  guilt  than  a  madman  ;  although, 
like  him,  he  may  be  extremely  mischievous.  The  only 
guilt  with  which  he  is  chargeable  was  incurred  at  the 
time  when  he  voluntarily  brought  himself  into  this  situa¬ 
tion.  And  as  every  man  is  responsible  for  the  conse¬ 
quences  which  he  foresaw,  or  might  have  foreseen,  and 
for  no  other,  this  guilt  will  be  in  propoition  to  the  proba¬ 
bility  of  such  consequences  ensuing.  From  which  prin¬ 
ciple  results  the  following  rule,  viz. :  that  the  guilt  of  any 
action  in  a  drunken  man  bears  the  same  proportion  to  the 
guilt  of  the  like  action  in  a  sober  man,  that  the  probabil¬ 
ity  of  its  being  the  consequence  of  drunkenness  bears  to 
absolute  certainty. 

By  virtue  of  this  rule,  those  vices  which  are  the  known 
effects  of  drunkenness,  either  in  general,  or  upon  partic¬ 
ular  constitutions,  are,  in  all,  or  in  men  of  such  constitu¬ 
tions,  nearly  as  criminal  as  if  committed  with  all  the  fac¬ 
ulties  and  senses  about  them. 

(2.)  If  the  privation  be  only  partial,  the  guilt  will  be  of 
a  mixed  nature.  For  so  much  of  his  self-government  as 
the  drunkard  retains,  he  is  as  responsible  then  as  at  any 
other  time.  He  is  entitled  to  no  abatement  beyond  the 
strict  proportion,  in  which  his  moral  faculties  are  impair¬ 
ed.  The  guilt  of  the  crime,  if  a  sober  man  had  committed 
it,  may  be  called  the  whole  guilt.  A  person  in  the  con¬ 
dition  we  describe,  incurs  part  of  this  at  the  instant  of 
perpetration ;  and  by  bringing  himself  into  such  a  con¬ 
dition,  he  incurred  that  fraction  of  the  remaining  part 


INTEMPERANCE. 


333 


which  the  danger  of  this  consequence  was  of  an  integral 
certainty.  [Paley.] 

700.  Both  reason  and  experience  show  that  total  absti¬ 
nence  from  all  articles  that  can  intoxicate,  is  such  a  remedy 
and  such  a  safeguard ;  and  hence  should  be  universally 
adopted  for  the  good  of  society,  and  of  each  of  its  mem¬ 
bers. 

701.  The  following  nai'rative  is  from  a  recent  little 
volume  by  the  Rev.  Thos.  P.  Hunt,  and  may  serve  as  a 
representative  of  numberless  similar  cases  that  have  oc¬ 
curred  in  our  own,  and  in  other  countries ;  it  may  also 
serve  to  illustrate  many  of  the  positions  assumed  above. 

“  In  the  state  of  R - ,  a  man  was  hung  for  murdei’- 

ing  his  wife.  She  had  gone  to  the  liquor-seller,  and  on 
her  knees  begged  him  not  to  let  her  husband  have  rum. 
But  she  was  ordered  out,  and  her  request  denied.  In  the 
evening,  after  her  husband  became  somewhat  excited,  the 
liquor-seller  began  to  taunt  and  tease  him  by  calling  him 
henpecked,  and  the  like  sneering  epithets.  After  he  had 
aroused  the  fiend  in  his  heart,  he  told  him  that  his  wife 
had  been  there  to  stop  his  grog.  ‘  Has  she  V  said  he ; 
‘  sell  me  a  knife,  and  I  will  cut  her  throat.’  He  bought 
the  knife,  and  started  for  home,  bent  on  vengeance. 
When  he  reached  the  door,  as  he  afterward  stated,  his 
heart  failed  him.  How  could  he  injure  his  wife  1  She 
had  known  happy  days  before  he  married  her,  and  amid 
all  his  neglect  and  cruelty  had  never  complained,  had 
never  upbraided  him.  She  was  the  mother  of  his  chil¬ 
dren,  and  had  ever  toiled  for  their  good  and  his,  and 
always  taught  them  to  respect  him,  even  when  he  knew 
he  deserved  not  their  love.  How  could  he  injure  such  a 
wife  I  His  conscience  would  not  let  him  do  it.  He  fled 
from  the  house  as  though  the  angel  with  the  flaming 
sword  of  justice  were  pursuing  him.  But  he  fled  to  the 
grog-shop.  Another  half-pint  did  the  business.  Now  no 
reason  restrained — no  conscience  rebuked  him.  He  ran 
to  his  house,  seized  his  wife  by  the  hair,  and,  drawing 
back  her  head,  cut  her  throat.  She,  clapping  her  hand 
on  the  gash,  ran  over  to  the  liquor-seller’s,  and  exclaim¬ 
ing  to  him,  ‘  See  what  you  have  done  !’  died  on  the  stone 
steps  at  his  door  ! 

Her  dying  exclamation  is  adapted  to  awaken  the  con¬ 
science  of  the  sellers  of  intoxicating  drink,  and  to  hold  up 


334 


DUTIES  OF  THE  SIXTH  PRECEPT. 


to  them  the  guilt  of  their  sordid  and  pernicious  occupa¬ 
tion.” 

This  affecting  narrative  teaches  us  that  he  who  abhors 
the  crimes  committed  by  deranged  men,  should  never 
venture  on  the  formation  of  a  habit,  which  may  deprive 
him  of  any  I'estraint  or  power  to  resist  and  to  escape  the 
temptations  of  a  wicked  heart.  The  drunkard  was  more 
to  blame  for  moderate  drinking,  for  that  which  made  him 
a  drunkard,  than  for  deeds  which  resulted  from  a  state  of 
insanity.  Every  moderate  drinker  is  exposed  to  such  a 
dreadful  result. 

The  civil  law  justly  holds  a  drunken  man  responsible 
for  criminal  acts. 


IX.  Duties  involved  in  the  Sixth  Precept. 

702.  (1.)  We  ought  to  use  all  proper  means  of  pre¬ 
serving  our  own  life,  for  our  own  sakes,  and  for  the  good 
of  those  who  are  dependent  upon  us,  and  to  whom  we 
may  be  useful  in  temporal  and  religious  matters. 

(2.)  We  are  bound  also  to  endeavor  to  preserve  the 
lives  of  others  by  warning  them  of  dangers  to  morals, 
health,  and  life ;  by  rescuing  them  from  perilous  circum¬ 
stances,  especially  from  such  destructive  vices  as  intem¬ 
perance  in  eating  or  drinking,  and  debauchery ;  by  min¬ 
istering  to  the  supply  of  their  necessities ;  by  doing  what 
will  contribute  to  render  life  desirable  and  comfortable  to 
them. 

(3.)  As  there  is  a  life  of  far  greater  importance  than 
that  of  the  body,  the  precept  may  be  understood  to  com¬ 
prehend  the  duties  which  relate  to  the  welfare  or  salva¬ 
tion  of  our  own  souls,  and  those  of  our  fellow-men. 

[Professor  Dick’s  Lectures.] 

X.  Consequences  of  a  Universal  Violation  of  the  Sixth  Precept. 

,703.  It  is  obvious  on  the  slightest  reflection,  that  tvere 
this  precept  to  be  universally  violated,  human  society 
would  soon  cease  to  exist. 

In  accomplishing  such  a  horrid  result,  every  peaceful 
pursuit  and  employment  would  be  abandoned  ;  the  voice 
of  wailing,  and  the  yells  of  fury  and  despair  would  be 
heard  in  every  family,  in  every  village,  city,  field,  king¬ 
dom,  and  clime.  The  work  of  destruction  would  go  on 
with  dreadful  rapidity,  till  the  whole  race  of  man  were 


CONSEQUENCES  IF  VIOLATED. 


335 


extirpated  from  the  earth,  leaving  this  vast  globe  a  scene 
of  solitude  and  desolation  ;  an  immense  open  sepulchre  : 
the  natural  result,  too,  of  the  principle  of  hatred,  were  it 
left  to  its  native  energies ;  and  were  it  not  controlled,  in 
the  course  of  providence,  by  Him  who  sets  restraining 
bounds  to  the  wrath  of  man.  ^ 

704.  By  way  of  counteracting  the  tendencies  of  this 
evil  principle,  it  is  of  the  utmost  consequence  that  youth 
be  trained  up  in  habits  of  kindness,  tenderness,  and  com¬ 
passion,  both  toward  human  beings,  and  toward  the  infe¬ 
rior  animals ;  that  an  abhorrence  should  be  excited  in 
their  minds,  of  quarreling,  fighting,  and  all  mischievous 
tricks  and  actions  ;  that  they  be  restrained  from  the  indul¬ 
gence  of  malicious  and  resentful  passions  ;  that  the  prin¬ 
ciple  of  active  beneficence  be  cultivated  with  the  most 
sedulous  care.  For,  in  youth,  the  foundation  has  gener¬ 
ally  been  laid  of  those  malevolent  dispositions  which  have 
led  to  robbery,  assassination,  and  other  deeds  of  violence, 
which  have  filled  the  earth  with  blood  and  carnage. 

[Dick’s  Philosophy  of  Religion.] 


675.  What  is  the  prominent  design  of  this  precept? 

676.  Does  God  make  any  distinction  between  human  life  and  the  life  of 
the  lower  animals  ? 

677.  'Why  should  this  precept  be  considered  as  thus  limited  in  its  pro¬ 
hibition  ?  Why  is  it  not  to  be  understood  as  guarding  the  life  of  every 
animal  ? 

678.  Has  the  divine  law  given  us  authority  to  kill  animals  in  other 
cases,  or  for  other  and  minor  purposes  ? 

679.  Does  the  sixth  precept  forbid  capital  punishment,  or  the  taking 
away  of  life  for  crime? 

680.  What  is  the  moral  influence  of  the  penalty  of  death  compared  with 
other  penalties  ? 

681.  What  is  it  that  renders  murder  eminently  worthy  of  such  a  pen¬ 
alty  ? 

682.  How  has  God,  in  his  providence,  discouraged  the  crime  of  mur¬ 
der  ? 

683.  By  whom  must  the  punishment  of  death  be  inflicted,  that  it  may 
be  lawful,  and  not  involve  the  crime  of  murder? 

684.  Does  this  precept  forbid  the  taking  away  of  life  in  self-defense  ? 

685.  How  far  are  wars,  in  the  course  of  which  there  must  be  the  loss 
of  many  lives,  consistent  with  this  precept? 

686.  How  may  it  be  shown  that  defensive  war  cannot  entirely  be  dis¬ 
pensed  with  ? 

687.  What  are  the  prominent  causes  of  aggressive  and  unjust  wars? 

688.  Since  wars  are  eminently  destructive  of  human  life,  without  just 
reason,  and  proceed  from  causes  like  those  mentioned,  what  duty  have 
we  to  perform  in  relation  to  this  matter  ? 

689.  What  consequences  of  war  may  be  mentioned  to  show  the  reason¬ 
ableness  and  value  of  the  sixth  precept,  “  Thou  shalt  not  kill  ?” 

690.  Illustrate  the  subject  by  the  story  of  the  Nithsdale  boys? 

691.  Does  the  sixth  precept  forbid  suicide,  or  self-murder  ? 


336 


DESIGN  OF  THE  SEVENTH  PRECEPT. 


692.  Will  disgust  at  life,  or  severe  affliction,  justify  self-murder? 

693.  In  what  consists  the  criminality  of  suicide  ? 

694.  How  does  it  appear  that  dueling  is  a  violation  of  the  sixth  pre- 
cejit  1 

695.  Having  shown  that  dueling  involves  the  crime  of  murder,  how 
does  its  absurdity  appear,  either  as  a  punishment  of  an  offense,  or  as  a 
reparation  ? 

696.  State  some  other  prohibitions  under  the  sixth  precept  ? 

697.  Why  is  drunkenness  treated  under  the  sixth  precept? 

698.  Upon  what  other  circumstances  does  its  criminality  depend  ? 

699.  How  far  is  drunkenness  an  excuse  for  the  crimes  which  the  drunken 
person  commits  ? 

700.  What  is  the  only  effectual  remedy  for  drunkenness,  and  the  only 
infallible  safeguard  against  becoming  its  victim,  and  thus  being  led  to 
crime  and  ruin  ? 

701.  What  fact  will  serve  to  illustrate  several  of  the  positions  assumed 
above  ? 

702.  What  duties  are  involved  in  the  sixth  precept? 

703.  What  consequences  would  follow  upon  the  universal  violation  of 
this  precept  ? 

704.  How  should  the  tendencies  of  this  evil  principle  in  human  nature 
be  counteracted  ? 


SEVENTH  COMMANDMENT. 

“  Thou  shall  not  commit  adultery." 

I.  Design  and  Extent  of  this  Prohibition. 

As  in  the  last  precept,  where  murder  is  forbidden,  it 
was  observed  that  everything  which  tends  to  it,  or  pro¬ 
ceeds  from  the  same  bad  principle  with  it,  is  forbidden 
too ;  so  in  the  seventh  precept,  where  adultery,  or  illicit 
intercourse  with  a  married  person,  is  prohibited,  it  is 
equally  plain  that  the  prohibition  must  be  extended  to 
wdiatever  else  is  criminal  in  the  same  kind  of  conduct, 
and  the  Scriptures  fully  confirm  this  principle  of  interpre¬ 
tation. 

705.  (1.)  The  great  design  of  this  precept  seems  to 
have  been  to  promote  the  happiness  of  human  society,  by 
maintaining  the  sacredness  of  the  relation  constituted  by 
marriage,  and  by  guarding  against  its  abuse  or  neglect : 
for  the  institution  of  marriage,  duly  honored  according  to 
the  Scriptures,  must  be  regarded  as  the  greatest  bulwark 
of  human  virtue  and  human  happiness.  For  this  purpose 
it  was  instituted  by  God  at  the  very  commencement  of 
human  society,  Gen.  ii.  24 ;  Matt.  xix.  3-6.  It  is  by 
means  of  this  wise  and  gracious  ordinance  that  he  has 
provided  for  the  regulation  of  those  strong  instinctive 
passions  upon  which  the  propagation  of  the  race  depends, 
and  nothing  is  clearer  than  that  a  general  disregard  of 
this  institution  would  inevitably  make  havoc  of  the  peace, 


EXTENT  OF  THE  SEVENTH  PRECEPT. 


337 


purity,  and  highest  welfare  of  society.  Wliile  therefore 
the  sanctity  of  the  marriage  relation  is  the  first  object 
aimed  to  be  secured  by  this  precept,  it  points  its  prohibi¬ 
tion  at  the  same  time  against  everything  that  is  contrary 
to  the  spirit  and  ends  of  that  institution,  whether  in 
thought,  word,  or  deed.  Matt.  v.  28. 

706.  (2.)  With  regard  to  the  extent  of  this  prohibition, 
“  as  marriage  is  the  sole  and  exclusive  provision  made  by 
the  Creator  to  meet  the  demands  of  that  part  of  our  na¬ 
ture  which  the  Seventh  Commandment  contemplates, 
every  species  of  sensual  commerce  between  the  sexes 
except  that  which  comes  under  its  sanction,  is  doubtless 
to  be  viewed  as  a  violation  of  this  precept,  as  also  every¬ 
thing  that  goes  by  legitimate  tendency  to  produce  it. 
Hence — 

“  All  the  arts  and  blandishments  resorted  to  by  the  se¬ 
ducer;  all  the  amorous  looks,  motions,  modes  of  dress 
and  verbal  insinuations  which  go  to  provoke  the  passions, 
and  make  way  for  criminal  indulgence  ;  all  writing,  read¬ 
ing,  publishing,  vending,  or  circulating  obscene  books ; 
all  exposing  or  lustfully  contemplating  indecent  pictures 
or  statues  ;  all  support  of  or  connivance  with  the  practices 
of  prostitution,  whether  by  drawing  a  revenue  from 
houses  of  infamy,  or  winking  at  the  abominations  of  their 
inmates,  partake,  more  or  less,  of  the  guilt  of  violating 
the  Seventh  Commandment.”  [Bush  on  Exodus.] 

To  these  must  be  added,  marriage  with  any  person 
who  is  too  nearly  related  either  by  blood  or  affinity,  to 
be  a  lawful  partner ;  also  marriage  with  those  who  have 
not  been  properly  divorced,  according  to  the  Scriptures ; 
Matt.  V.  32.  More  ffagrant  violations  of  this  law  are 
stated  in  Leviticus  xx.  13 ;  xviii.  22-25. 

In  a  word,  it  forbids  all  impure  actions,  all  impure 
words,  all  impure  thoughts,  as  sinful  in  themselves,  and 
as  leading  to  sin.  This  is  our  Lord’s  commentary  upon 
the  law :  “  Whoso  looketh  upon  a  woman,  to  lust  after 
her,  hath  committed  adultery  with  her  already  in  his 
heart;”  and  he  teaches,  in  the  same  connection,  that 
even  wanton  thoughts  must  be  expelled  from  the  soul, 
however  difficult  the  act  of  expulsion,  on  pain  of  ever¬ 
lasting  death.  This  is  what  he  intends  by  the  right 
hand,  and  the  right  eye,  that  are  severally  to  be  cut  off 
and  plucked  out. 


P 


338  MARRIAGE  A  CIVIL  AND  DIVINE  INSTITUTION. 


II.  Marriage. 

707.  Marriage  is  an  ordinance  of  God,  for  important 
purposes  connected  with  the  comfort  and  moral  improve¬ 
ment  of  the  species.  Our  first  parents  were  united  as 
husband  and  wife  by  their  Creator  himself,  and  an  ex¬ 
ample  was  given  to  be  imitated  by  their  descendants. 
As  such  it  was  considered  by  Adam,  who,  instructed,  no 
doubt,  by  a  divine  revelation,  said  on  that  occasion, 
“  Therefore  shall  a  man  leave  his  father  and  mother,  and 
shall  cleave  unto  his  wife.”  It  may  be  observed,  that 
Christ  quotes  this  declaration  as  proceeding  from  the 
Creator  himself :  in  either  view,  it  comes  to  us  with  the 
highest  authority. 

This  institution  (marriage)  was  honored  on  at  least 
one  occasion  by  the  personal  attendance  of  Christ,  and 
furnished  an  opportunity  for  the  first  of  that  splendid 
series  of  miracles,  by  which  he  proved  himself  to  be  the 
Son  of  God,  and  the  Savior  of  the  world.  A  further 
sacredness  is  thrown  about  this  relation  by  the  apostle 
Paul,  when  he  compares  it  to  that  which  subsists  be¬ 
tween  Christ  himself  and  his  church,  and  thence  deduces 
the  corresponding  obligations  of  husband  and  wife.  Eph. 
V.  22-32. 

708.  Marriage  is  the  union  of  one  man  to  one  woman,  as 
husband  and  wife.  This  appears  from  the  record  of  its 
original  institution  :  “  cleave  unto  his  wife,’’’'  not  his  wives, 
nor  their  wife ;  (1  Cor.  vii.  2),  “  Let  every  man  have  his 
own  wife,”  not  wives.  Hence  polygamy  is  unlawful. 

Marriage  a  Civil  as  icell  as  Divine  Institution. 

709.  As  the  relation  is  of  great  importance,  not  only 
to  the  individuals,  but  to  society  at  large,  the  civil  laws 
have  taken  it  under  their  cognizance,  and  prescribed  the 
forms  which  are  necessai*y  to  legalize  the  transaction. 
These  differ  in  different  countries.  When  the  laws  have 
settled  the  forms,  the  observance  of  them  becomes  in¬ 
dispensable  ;  and  as  marriage,  although  a  divine  institu¬ 
tion,  is  at  the  same  time  a  civil  transaction,  a  mairiage, 
in  contracting  w'hich  they  have  been  neglected,  is  not 
legal,  and  cannot  be  considered  as  valid. 

710.  In  the  United  States  (at  least  in  the  state  of  New- 
York),  a  simple  consent  of  the  parties  is  all  that  is  required 


THE  MARRIAGE  RITE. 


339 


to  render  marriage  ■valid :  but  this  consent  must  be  de¬ 
clared  before  a  magistrate,  or  simply  before  witnesses,  or 
subsequently  acknowledged ;  or  it  may  be  inferred  from 
continual  cohabitation  and  reputation  as  husband  and 
wife.  Regulations  have  been  made  by  law,  in  some  of 
the  states  for  the  due  solemnization  and  proof  of  mar¬ 
riage  ;  but  where  such  provisions  have  not  been  made, 
the  contract  is,  in  this  country,  under  the  government  of 
the  English  common  law. 

But  marriage,  to  be  valid  in  law,  requires  the  consent 
of  parties  capable  of  contracting.  No  persons  are  capable 
of  binding  themselves  in  marriage,  until  they  have  arrived 
at  the  age  of  consent,  which,  by  the  common  law  of  the 
land,  is  fixed  at  fourteen  years  in  males,  and  twelve  in 
females:  but  in  the  state  of  New- York,  seventeen  for 
males,  and  fourteen  for  females.  Idiots  and  lunatics 
cannot  legally  contract  mamage. 

[Young’s  Science  of  Government.] 

711.  Whether  it  has  grown  out  of  some  tradition  of 
the  divine  appointment  of  marriage  in  the  persons  of  our 
first  parents,  or  merely  from  a  design  to  impress  the  ob¬ 
ligation  of  the  marriage  contract  with  a  solemnity  suited 
to  its  importance,  the  marriage  rite,  in  almost  all  countries 
of  the  world,  has  been  made  a  religious  ceremony:  and 
this  seems  to  comport  best  with  its  divine  origin,  sacred 
character,  and  gi'eat  influence  upon  the  future  happiness 
of  the  parties,  and  of  society.  The  contract  partakes  of 
the  solemnity  of  an  oath  ;  and  should,  therefore,  be  made 
in  connection  with  prayer  to  Almighty  God  for  his  bene¬ 
diction,  and  for  his  aid  in  fulfilling  its  engagements.  The 
parties  entering  upon  marriage,  under  such  circum¬ 
stances,  would  be  more  likely  to  feel  ever  afterward  the 
obligation  to  be  faithful,  than  when  the  service  is  per¬ 
formed  merely  by  a  justice  of  the  peace,  without  religious 
ceremonies  and  offerings. 

712.  Ma7'riage  is  not  a  temporary  contract,  like  that 
between  master  and  servant,  but  the  union  of  a  man  and 
woman  for  life.  They  cannot  separate  at  their  pleasure, 
or  at  the  expiration  of  a  definite  period.  They  are 
bound  to  adhere  to  each  other  during  the  term  of  their 
natural  lives,  and  neither  of  them  is  at  liberty  to  enter 
into  a  similar  engagement,  without  an  offense  against  the 
law  both  of  God  and  man.  See  Rom.  vii.  2,  3. 


340 


JUST  GROUND  OF  DIVORCE. 


713.  In  consequence  of  a  certain  crime,  however,  this 
relation  may  legally  terminate  during  the  lifetime  of  the 
parties.  The  act  of  adultery,  whether  committed  by  the 
husband  or  w'ife,  is  a  just  and  scriptural  ground  of  di¬ 
vorce,  or  separation.  Matt.  v.  32  ;  Luke  xvi.  18  ;  Mark 
X.  4-12;  Matt.  xix.  3-12.  This  act  furnishes,  according 
to  the  law  of  God — the  Scriptures — the  only  just  ground 
of  divorce,  or  of  full  release  from  matrimonial  obliga¬ 
tions.  It  is  a  direct  violation  of  the  marriage  vow,  giv¬ 
ing  the  aggrieved  party  a  right  to  demand  the  dissolu¬ 
tion  of  an  engagement  which  the  other  has  broken  by 
retracting  the  pledge  solemnly  given  at  the  commence¬ 
ment. 

It  is  to  be  observed,  however,  that  adultery  does  not 
if  so  facto,  by  the  act  itself,  dissolve  the  conjugal  relation: 
it  only  invests  the  sufferer  with  the  right  to  demand  the 
dissolution  of  it  from  competent  authority.  If  the  wife, 
or  the  husband,  does  not  choose  to  exercise  the  right, 
things  legally  remain  as  they  were. 

There  are  other  gi’ounds  of  separation  recognized  in 
civil  law,  and  in  practice,  which  will  be  presented  under 
the  head  of  Divorce. 


III.  Duties  of  the  Married  State. 

714.  (1.)  The  ground  of  all  duties,  common  to  husband 
and  wife,  is  love.  A  manied  couple  without  mutual  re¬ 
gard  is  one  of  the  most  pitiable  spectacles  on  earth. 
They  cannot,  and  indeed,  in  ordinary  circumstances, 
ought  not  to  separate,  and  yet  they  remain  united  only 
to  be  a  torment  to  each  other.  They  serve  one  im- 
fortant  furfose,  however,  in  the  history  of  mankind,  and 
that  is,  to  be  a  beacon  to  all  who  are  yet  disengaged,  to 
warn  them  against  the  sin  and  folly  of  forming  this 
union  upon  any  other  basis  than  that  of  a  pure  and  mu¬ 
tual  attachment ;  and  to  admonish  all  that  are  so  united, 
to  watch  and  maintain,  with  most  assiduous  vigilance, 
their  mutual  regard. 

If  they  tvould  freserve  love,  let  them  be  sure  to  study 
most  accurately  each  other's  tastes  and  distastes,  and  most 
anxiously  abstain  from  whatever,  even  in  the  minutest 
things,  they  know  to  be  contrary  to  them. 

Further,  let  them  most  carefully  avoid  all  exaious  and 


DUTIES  OF  THE  MARRIED  STATE. 


341 


frequently  repeated  distinctions  of  mine  and  thine  ;  for 
this  has  caused  all  the  laws,  and  all  the  suits,  and  all  the 
wars  in  the  world.  Let  those  who  have  but  one  person, 
have  also  but  one  interest.  Instances,  may  occur,  in 
which  there  may,  and  must  be,  a  .separate  investiture  of 
projierty,  and  a  sovereign  and  independent  right  of  dis¬ 
posal  in  the  woman  :  in  this  case,  the  most  anxious  care 
should  be  taken  by  the  husband  not  to  attempt  to  invade 
that  right;  and  by  the  wife,  neither  ostentatiously  to  speak 
of  it,  nor  rigidly  to  claim  it,  nor  selfishly  to  exercise  it. 

(2.)  Mutual  respect  is  a  duty  of  married  life  ;  for  though 
the  Scriptures  enjoin  on  the  wife  especial  reverence  to¬ 
ward  the  husband,  yet  is  respect  due  from  the  husband 
also. 

But  that  each  may  be  respected,  each  much  possess  a 
character,  and  so  act,  as  to  be  really  respectable,  or  worthy 
of  respect.  It  is,  and  ought  to  be,  a  more  dreadful  thing 
for  a  married  couple  to  lose  their  mutual  respect,  than  to 
lose  the  respect  of  the  world. 

(3.)  Mutual  attachment  to  each  other's  society  is  a  duty 
common  to  husband  and  wife. 

They  are  united,  in  order  to  be  companions.  It  is 
absurd  for  those  who  have  no  prospect  of  dwelling  to¬ 
gether,  to  enter  this  state ;  and  those  who  are  already  in 
it  should  not  be  unnecessarily  abroad.  When  from  home, 
they  cannot  discharge  the  duties  they  owe  to  their  house¬ 
hold. 

There  are  some  husbands  who  seem  fonder  of  any 
society  than  the  company  of  their  wives,  as  appears  from 
the  disposal  of  their  leisure  hours.  How  few  of  these 
are  appropriated  to  the  wife  !  It  is  a  sad  refection  upon 
a  man  when  he  is  fond  of  spending  his  evenings  abroad. 
It  implies  something  bad,  and  it  predicts  something 
worse. 

And  then,  to  insure,  as  far  as  possible,  the  society  of 
her  husband,  at  his  own  fireside,  let  the  wife  be  “  a  keeper 
at  home,”  and  do  all  in  her  power  to  render  that  fireside 
as  attractive  as  good  temper,  neatness,  and  cheerful,  affec¬ 
tionate  conversation,  can  make  it. 

But  the  pleasures  of  home  must  not  be  allowed  to  inter¬ 
fere  with  the  calls  and  claims  of  public  duty.  Wives 
must  not  ask,  and  husbands  must  not  give,  that  time 
which  is  demanded  for  the  cause  of  God  and  man. 


342 


DUTIES  OF  THE  MARRIED  STATE. 


(4.)  Mutual  forbearance  is  another  duty.  This  we  owe 
to  all,  not  excepting  the  stranger  or  an  enemy ;  and 
most  certainly  it  must  not  be  denied  to  our  nearest  and 
dearest  eartlhy  friend.  Wherever  sin  or  imperfection 
exists,  there  is  room  for  the  forbearance  of  love.  There 
is  no  perfection  on  earth. 

(5.)  Mutual  assistance,  is  the  duty  of  husbands  and 
wives.  The  wife  should  be  willing  to  help  the  husband 
by  her  counsel  in  matters  of  business;  while  he  should  be 
willing  to  share  with  her  the  burden  of  domestic  anxieties 
and  fatigues. 

They  should  be  helpful  to  each  other  also  in  the  con¬ 
cerns  of  personal  religion.  The  highest  end  of  the  con¬ 
nubial  state  is  lost  if  it  be  not  rendered  helpful  to  our 
piety,  and  yet  this  end  is  too  generally  neglected,  even 
by  professors  of  religion. 

This  mutual  help  should  extend  to  the  maintenance  of 
all  the  habits  of  domestic  order,  discipline,  and  piety. 
They  must  also  be  helpful  to  each  other. in  works  of 
humanity  and  religious  benevolence. 

(6.)  Mutual  sympathy  is  required,  not  only  in  refer¬ 
ence  to  their  sicknesses,  but  to  all  their  afflictions,  whether 
personal  or  relative  :  all  their  sorrows  should  be  common. 

715.  Thei'e  are  special  duties  which  the  husband  owes 
to  the  wife,  and  again  those  which  the  wife  owes  to  the 
husband,  for  the  understanding  of  which  “James’s  Guide 
to  Domestic  Happiness”  may  be  consulted.  We  shall 
furnish  from  that  admirable  work  an  illustration  of  two 
or  three  duties  which  are  especially  important  to  be  ex¬ 
hibited  in  the  wife.  The  first  of  these  is — 

(1.)  Meekness,  which  the  apostle  Peter  enjoins  upon 
every  wife  to  cultivate.  He  speaks  of  the  ornament  of  a 
meek  and  quiet  spirit.  No  one  stands  in  greater  need  of 
this  disposition  than  the  female  head  of  a  family  ;  either 
the'  petulance  and  waywai'dness  of  children,  or  the  neg¬ 
lect  and  misconduct  of  servants,  or  the  shai-p  words  of  a 
husband,  are  almost  sure,  if  she  be  easily  provoked,  to 
keep  her  in  a  state  of  painful  iiritation  all  the  day  long. 

(2.)  Tkhe  strength  of  woman  lies  not  in  resisting,  but  in 
yielding;  her  power  is  in  her  gentleness  :  there  is  more  of 
real  defense,  and  more  of  that  aggressive  operation  too, 
which  disarms  a  foe,  in  one  mild  look,  or  one  soft  accent, 
than  in  hours  of  flashing  glances,  and  of  angry  tones. 


DUTIES  OF  A  WIFE. 


343 


(3.)  The  ornanientof  a  nieelc  and  quiet  spirit,  is  enjoined 
by  an  apostle  in  contrast  with  outward  adorning  of  the 
person,  which  he  forbids — which  teaches  us  that  less  at¬ 
tention  should  be  paid  to  the  decoration  of  the  person  ; 
more  to  that  of  the  mind.  1  Tim,  ii.  9,  10  ;  1  Pet.  hi.  3,  4. 

716.  The  evils  of  an,  improper  attention  to  dress,  are  the 
following : — 

(1.)  Much  precious  time  is  wasted  in  the  study,  and 
arrangements,  and  decision  of  this  matter. 

(2.)  The  attention  is  taken  off  from  the  improvement  of 
the  mind  and  the  heart,  to  the  decoration  of  the  person. 

(3.)  The  mind  is  filled  with  pride  and  vanity,  and  love 
of  display,  and  the  true  dignity  of  the  soul  is  degraded. 

(4.)  Money  is  wasted  which  is  wanted  for  relieving  the, 
misery,  and  improving  the  condition  of  mankincL 

“  We  sacrifice  to  dress,  till  household  joys 
And  comforts  cease.  Dress  drains  our  cellar  dry, 

And  keeps  our  larder  lean ;  puts  out  our  fires ; 

And  introduces  hunger,  frost,  and  woe. 

Where  peace  and  hospitality  might  reign.” 

717.  Economy  and  order  in  the  management  of  her 
personal  and  domestic  expenditure,  is  the  obvious  duty  of 
a  wife. 

A  showy,  luxurious,  and  expensive  taste  is  almost  uni¬ 
versally  cherished  in  this  age,  where  there  are  no  means 
at  the  same  time  to  support  it, 

718.  A  wife  should  be  most  attentive  to  all  that  concerns 
the  welfare  and  comfort  of  the  family. 

For  this  purpose  she  must  be  “  a  keeper  at  home 
otherwise  she  cannot  discharge  the  duties  that  devolve 
upon  her.  Whoever  has  leisure  for  gossiping,  she  has 
none.  A  mother’s  place  is  in  the  midst  of  her  family ; 
a  mother’s  duties,  are  to  take  care  of  them.  Even  a 
taste  for  literature  must  be  kept  within  due  bounds,  and 
not  be  allowed  to  interfere  with  her  household  duties. 
Much  less  must  a  taste  for  company  be  allowed  to  draw 
a  wife  too  much  out  of  the  circle  of  her  cares  and  duties, 
leaving  the  family  at  home  to  themselves,  or  to  the  care 
of  servants. 

Even  attention  to  the  public  duties  of  religion  must  be 
regulated  by  a  due  regard  to  domestic  claims.  Yet 
many  go  to  an  opposite  extreme,  and  make  these  claims 
an  excuse  for  neglecting  almost  entirely  the  public  duties 
of  religion. 


344 


BENEFITS  OF  MARRIAGE. 


IV.  Benefits  ofi the  Marriage  Institution. 

719.  That  God  regards  the  marriage  institution  as 
highly  beneficial,  appears,  from  its  early  institution  by 
him ;  from  his  guarding  the  invasion  of  it  by  an  express 
precept  in  the  Decalogue;  from  the  severity  of  Jewish 
laws  requiring  the  punishment  of  its  violation ;  and  from 
the  threatenings  of  eternal  vengeance  for  the  same  crime. 

720.  There  are  several  benefits  which  it  is  adapted  to 
bestow : — 

(1.)  The  private  comfort  of  individuals  ;  especially  of 
the  female  sex.  Though  all  persons  are  not  concerned 
in  this  reason,  yet  it  is  a  reason  for  abstaining  from  any 
conduct  which  tends  in  its  general  consequence  to  obstruct 
marriage. 

“  Licentious  men,”  says  Dr.  Dwight,  “  both  of  ancient 
and  modern  times,  have  carried  on  a  course  of  open  and 
incessant  hostility  against  this  institution,  as  they  have 
indeed  against  all  the  real  interests  of  mankind.  In  the 
progress  of  this  warfare  they  have  arraigned  the  wisdom, 
and  denied  the  benefits  of  it ;  charged  upon  it  evils 
which  it  does  not  produce,  and  enhanced  those  which  are 
incident  to  the  marriaae  state.” 

O 

Having  admitted  the  fact  that  there  ai’e  many  unhappy 
mari'iages,  from  an  imprudent  selection  of  partners  ;  from 
entering  into  the  married  state  without  real  love  and  es¬ 
teem  for  the  other  party,  for  the  sake  of  property  per¬ 
haps  ;  and  from  conduct  inconsistent  with  the  duties  of 
the  married  state,  he  proceeds  to  say, — “  I  have  lived  in 
very  many  families;  and  these,  often  in  plain,  as  well  as 
polished  life.  With  very  many  more,  extensively  diver¬ 
sified  in  character  and  circumstances,  I  have  been  inti¬ 
mately  acquainted.  By  the  evidence  arising  from  these 
facts,  I  am  convinced  that  the  great  body  of  married  per¬ 
sona  are  rendered  more  happy  by  this  union ;  and  are  as 
happy,  as  their  character  and  their  circumstances  could 
permit  us  to  expect.” 

(2.)  The  preservation  and  comfort  of  children,  their 
better  education,  and  the  making  of  due  provision  for 
their  settlement  in  life. 

(3.)  The  peace  of  human  society,  in  cutting  off  a  prin¬ 
cipal  source  of  contention — existing  where  this  institution 
is  not  observed. 


POLYGAMY - ITS  EVILS. 


345 


(4.)  The  better  government  of  society,  by  distributing 
the  community  into  separate  families,  and  appointing  over 
each  the  authority  of  a  master  of  a  family,  which  has 
more  actual  influence  than  all  civil  authority  put  together. 

(5.)  The  same  end,  in  the  additional  security  which 
the  state  receives  for  the  good  behavior  of  its  citizens, 
from  the  solicitude  parents  feel  for  the  welfare  of  their 
children,  and  from  their  being  confined  to  permanent 
habitations. 

(6.)  The  encouragement  of  industry  and  economy. 

(7.)  The  promotion  of  religion  in  the  world. 

V.  Subjects  collateral  to  Marriage. 

721.  Of  these  we  shall  notice  only  Polygamy  and 
Divorce — referring  the  student  to  Paley  or  Wayland  for 
a  discussion  of  other  kindred  topics. 

{a.)  Polygamy. 

722.  Not  only  the  Scripture  account  of  the  creation  of 
mankind  is  a  proof,  to  as  many  as  believe  in  Scripture, 
that  the  union  of  one  man  with  one  woman  was  the  origi¬ 
nal  design  and  will  of  Heaven  ;  but  the  rcmarhahle  equal¬ 
ity  of  males  and  females  bom  into  the  world,  is  an  evidence 
of  it  to  all  men. 

Yet  we  know  that  polygamy  was  introduced  at  an  early 
period ;  that  it  was  practiced  by  the  patriarchs  and  other 
pious  men  ;  and  that  it  was  recognized  by  the  law  of 
Moses,  and  subjected  to  regulation.  If  it  was  not  prop¬ 
erly  approved,  it  was  tolerated  ;  and  we  must  conclude, 
that  at  that  period  there  was  not  such  moral  evil  in  it,  if 
it  was  at  all  sinful,  as  was  inconsistent  with  a  state  of  sal¬ 
vation.  Yet  it  ought  to  be  considered  that  all  the  in¬ 
stances  of  polygamy  mentioned  in  Scripture  history  were 
attended  with  great  calamities  to  the  children  and  parents, 
a  fact  that  seems  to  prove  that  polygamy  is  opposed  by 
God  in  his  providence. 

723.  There  are  other  reasons  for  considering  polygamy 
unlawful.  It  is  attended  usually  with  the  following  bad 
effects  to  the  parties  and  to  the  public;  (1.)  It  is  incon¬ 
sistent  with  a  due  degree  of  mutual  affection  in  the  par¬ 
ties,  and  a  due  care  in  the  education  of  their  children. 
(2.)  It  introduces  contests  and  jealousies  among  the  wives 
of  the  same  husband ;  keeps  a  multitude  of  females  in 


346 


DIVORCE. 


most  unnatural  bondage,  frequently  under  guardians  fitted 
for  the  office  by  unnatural  cruelty,  and  tempts  a  multitude 
of  males,  thus  left  unprovided  for,  to  unnatural  lusts. 

To  compensate  for  these  great  evils,  polygamy  does 
not  offer  a  single  advantage. 

Though  polygamy  was  tolerated  in  the  earlier  ages 
among  the  Jews,  it  seems  not  to  have  been  practiced 
among  them  in  the  time  of  Christ ;  for  in  the  New  Testa¬ 
ment  we  meet  with  no  trace  or  mention  of  its  being  toler¬ 
ated.  For  which  reason,  and  because  it  was  likewise 
forbidden  among  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  we  cannot 
expect  to  find  any  express  law  upon  the  subject  in  the 
Christian  code.  Yet  there  is  an  implied  condemnation 
of  it  in  several  passages  ;  as  in  Matt.  xix.  9,  for,  if  “  who¬ 
soever  putteth  away  his  wife  and  marrieth  another,  com- 
mitteth  adultery,”  he  who  marrieth  another  without  put¬ 
ting  away  the  first,  is  no  less  guilty  of  adultery ;  because 
the  adultery  does  not  consist  in  the  repudiation  of  the 
first  wife  (for  however  unjust  or  cruel  that  may  be,  it  is 
not  adultery),  but  in  entering  into  a  second  marriage 
during  the  legal  existence  and  obligation  of  the  first. 

The  several  passages  in  St.  Paul’s  writings,  which 
speak  of  marriage,  always  suppose  it  to  signify  the  union 
of  one  man  with  one  woman.  Rom.  vii.  2,  3  ;  1  Cor.  vii.  2. 
The  inference  therefore  is,  that  jiolygamy  is  condemned 
by  Christ  and  his  apostles.  In  some  countries  it  is  now 
punished  with  death ;  in  others,  as  in  this,  with  imprison¬ 
ment. 


(Jo.)  Divorce. 

724.  Divorce  is  the  dissolution  of  the  marriage  con¬ 
tract. 

725.  There  can  be  no  other  just  cause  for  this  than 

incontinence,  if  the  authority  of  Christ  be  regarded  as 
supreme.  Matt.  xix.  3-G,  9.  “  Then  came  some  of  the 

Pharisees  to  him,  and  tempting  him,  asked,  Can  a  man, 
upon  every  pretense,  divorce  his  wife  ]  He  answered. 
Have  ye  not  read,  that  at  the  beginning,  when  the  Cre¬ 
ator  made  man,  he  formed  a  male  and  a  female ;  and 
said,  for  this  cause  shall  a  man  leave  father  and  mother, 
and  adhere  to  his  wife ;  and  they  two  shall  be  one  flesh. 
Wherefore,  they  are  no  longer  two,  but  one  flesh.  What 
then  God  hath  conjoined,  let  not  man  separate.  Where- 


ONLY  ONE  GROUND  FOR  DIVORCE. 


347 


fore  I  say  unto  you,  whosoever  divorceth  his  wife,  except 
for  whoredom,  and  mai'rieth  another,  committeth  adul¬ 
tery.”  This  is  Dr.  Campbell’s  translation,  and  is  thought 
very  accurately  to  convey  the  meaning  of  the  passage.  i 

According  to  the  highest  legislative  authority  then,  for 
such  must  Christ’s  be  regarded,  no  divorce  is  lawful,  ex¬ 
cept  for  the  cause  specified ;  and  though  human  govern¬ 
ments  have  unwisely  and  irreligiously  taken  the  respon¬ 
sibility  to  grant  divorces  on  other  and  much  slighter 
grounds  also,  there  is  a  tribunal  before  which  all  those 
persons  will  be  tried  for  the  crime  of  adultery,  who,  hav¬ 
ing  obtained  divorce  on  these  slighter  gi’ounds,  have 
formed  subsequently  another  matrimonial  connection. 
According  to  Christ’s  plain  declaration,  such  marriages 
are  a  palpable  violation  of  the  Seventh  Commandment.  | 

726.  Fx'om  the  language  of  Christ  just  quoted,  it  ap¬ 
pears  that  the  marriage  contract  is  to  be  regarded  not  as 
a  civil  contract  merely,  but  as  a  contract  with  religious 
sanctions  ;  not  as  a  merely  human,  but  also  as  a  divine 
institute ;  the  terms  and  conditions  of  which,  therefore, 
can  be  settled  by  God  alone. 

It  is  a  matter  upon  which  God  himself  legislated  at  the 
origin  of  the  human  family,  and  therefore  for  all  future 
nations  and  governments  ;  and  his  decree  is,  that  no  man, 
and  of  course  no  body  of  men,  shall  put  asunder,  or  di¬ 
vorce,  the  parties  united  in  marriage,  except  on  such 
grounds  as  he  might  permit  or  ordain. 

727.  It  must  indeed  be  admitted,  that  God  did  permit 
divorce  to  the  Jewish  nation  on  other  grounds  than  in¬ 
continence  ;  but  it  was  only  a  temporary  expedient,  grow¬ 
ing  out  of  a  peculiar  state  of  things,  and  not  designed  to 
be  perpetual ;  it  was  on  account  of  the  hardness  of  their 
hearts.  In  the  time  of  Moses,  Jewish  men  were  in  the 
habit  of  putting  away  their  wives  on  the  slightest  pretexts. 
It  was  not  judged  expedient  to  forbid  this  in  a  peremp¬ 
tory  manner,  in  the  Mosaic  laws,  but  it  was  judged  suffi¬ 
cient  at  that  time  to  emban’ass  the  proceeding  by  so  many 
legal  forms  and  delays  as  might  exert  an  influence  nearly 
equivalent  to  a  prohibition  and  prevention. 

But  Christ,  the  precepts  of  whose  religion  were  calcu¬ 
lated  for  universal  use  and  observance — for  the  world,  as 
well  as  for  the  Jews — revokes  this  permission  with  re¬ 
gard  to  divorces,  and  promulges  a  law  more  consistent 


348  SEPARATION  OT  IIUSCAND  AND  WIFE. 

.with  the  original  institute  of  marriage,  a  law  which  was 
thenceforward  to  confine  divorces  to  the  single  cause  of 
adultery  in  the  wife.  The  rule  was  new  :  it  surprised 
and  offended  the  disciples;  yet  Christ  added  nothing  to 
relax  or  explain  it. 

728.  Inferior  causes  may  justify  the  separation  of  hus¬ 
band  and  wife,  although  they  will  not  authorize  such  a 
dissolution  of  the  marriage  contract,  as  would  leave  either 
party  at  liberty  to  marry  again. 

If  the  care  of  children  does  not  require  that  they  should 
live  together,  and  it  is  become,  in  the  serious  judgment 
of  both,  necessary  for  their  mutual  happiness  that  they 
should  separate,  let  them  separate  by  consent.  Never¬ 
theless,  this  necessity  can  hardly  exist,  without  guilt  and 
misconduct  on  one  side  or  on  both.  Moreover,  cruelty, 
ill-usage,  extreme  violence,  or  moroseness  of  temper,  or 
other  great  and  continued  provocations,  make  it  lawful 
for  the  party  aggrieved  to  withdraw  from  the  society  of 
the  offender  without  his  or  her  consent.  St.  Paul  distin¬ 
guishes  between  a  wife’s  merely  separating  herself  from 
the  family  of  her  husband,  and  her  marrying  again  :  “  Let 
not  the  wife  depart  from  her  husband  ;  but,  and  if  she  do 
depart,  let  her  remain  unmarried.” 

Sometimes  divorce  is  given,  by  civil  courts,  a  mcnsa  ct 
thoro,  fi’om  bed  and  board,  when  legal  provision  is  made 
for  the  separate  maintenance  of  the  injured  wife.  Sen¬ 
tences  of  the  ecclesiastical  courts,  in  England,  which  re¬ 
lease  the  parties  a  vinculo  matrimonii,  on  the  ground  of 
tmpuberty,  .bodily  incapacity,  consanguinity  within  the 
prohibited  degrees,  prior  marriage,  are  not  dissolutions 
of  the  marriage  contract,  but  judicial  declarations  that 
there  never  was  any  legal  marriage  in  such  cases. 

There  will  be  no  need  of,  nor  desire  for  divorces,  if 
husbands  and  wives  would  perform  the  duties  which  have 
been  already  described  as  belonging  to  the  married  con¬ 
dition. 

729.  The  perpetuity  of  the  marriage  contract  tends  to 
preserve  peace  and  concord  between  married  persons,  by 
perpetuating  their  common  interest,  and  by  inducing  a 
necessity  of  mutrral  compliance.  Thus  each  will  strive  to 
make  the  best  of  the  bargain  they  have  made,  and  will 
seek  their  own  happiness  by  promoting  that  of  each  other. 

Again,  new  objects  of  desire  would  continually  be 


EFFECTS  OF  DIVORCE  ON  SLIGHT  GROUNDS.  349 

sought,  if  men  could,  at  will,  be  released  from  their  exist¬ 
ing  engagements  :  and  there  is  no  other  security  against 
the  invitations  of  novelty,  than  the  known  impossibility 
of  obtaining  the  object. 

730.  Beside  adultery,  human  laws  add,  as  prominent 
grounds  for  divorce,  obstinate  desertion,  outrageous 
cruelty,  attempts  upon  life,  incurable  madness,  and  per¬ 
sonal  imbecility. 

731.  Were  divorces  generally  permitted  on  the  ground 
of  unsuitableness  of  temper,  or  occasional  jars,  society 
would  soon  be  shaken  to  its  center.  Every  real  or  sup¬ 
posed  insult  or  provocation  would  be  followed  out  till  it 
terminated  in  a  separation  of  the  parties  ;  families  would 
thus  be  torn  into  shreds,  the  education  of  the  young 
would  be  neglected,  parental  authority  disregarded,  and 
a  door  opened  for  the  prevalence  of  unbounded  licen¬ 
tiousness.  Soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  revolu¬ 
tion  in  France,  a  law,  permitting  divorces,  was  passed  by 
the  National  Assembly ;  and,  in  less  than  three  months 
from  its  date,  nearly  as  many  divorces  as  marriages  were 
registered  in  the  city  of  Pai'is.  In  the  whole  kingdom, 
within  the  space  of  eighteen  months,  upward  of  twenty 
thousand  divorces  were  effected  ;  and  the  nation  sunk 
into  a  state  of  moral  degradation,  from  the  effects  of 
which  it  never  has  recovered. 

This  is  one  of  the  many  practical  proofs  presented 
before  us,  of  the  danger  of  infringing  on  any  of  the  moral 
arrangements  which  the  Creator  has  established ;  and 
shows  the  impolicy  of  extending,  in  our  own  country,  the 
act  of  divorce  to  any  other  cases  than  the  single  one, 
specified  in  the  law  of  our  Savior. 

VI.  Counsels  to  aid  in  Keeping  the  Seventh  Commandment. 

732.  (1.)  We  should  cultivate  an  habitual  sense  of  the 
divine  presence  ;  which  enabled  the  illustrious  Joseph  to 
preserve  his  innocence,  when  he  was  exposed  to  very 
powerful  solicitations  :  “  How  can  I  do  this  great  wicked¬ 
ness,  and  sin  against  God  !” 

(2.)  We  should  guard  against  the  entrance  of  evil 
thoughts  into  our  minds,  and  immediately  expel  them, 
if  they  shall  have  entered,  and  we  should  labor  to  sup¬ 
press  the  risings  of  unhallowed  appetite,  chiefly  by  turn¬ 
ing  our  attention  to  other  objects.  The  man  who  sports 


350 


IMPORTANCE  OF  THE  SEVENTH  PRECEPT. 


with  temptation,  and  quietly  permits  or  encourages  its 
first  advances,  is  in  danger  of  ultimately  yielding  to  it. 

(3.)  We  should  guard  against  all  incentives  to  those 
indulgences  which  are  forbidden  hy  this  precept — all  those 
spectacles,  reading,  and  conversation,  which  are  calcu¬ 
lated  to  excite  sensuality. 

W e  should  avoid  idleness,  which,  leaving  the  mind 
vacant,  exposes  it  to  the  inroads  of  unhallowed  imagina¬ 
tions  and  sentiments. 

We  should  avoid  intemperance  in  eating,  and  the 
use  of  intoxicating  drinks,  than  which  nothing  is  more 
likely  to  give  appetite  the  mastery  over  reason  and  con¬ 
science. 

VII.  Tendency  of  a  Universal  Violation  of  the  Seventh 
Commandment. 

733.  Were  this  law  to  be  universally  violated,  a  scene 
of  unbounded  licentiousness  would  ensue,  which  would 
degrade  the  human  character,  which  would  destroy  al¬ 
most  all  the  existing  relations  of  society,  and  unhinge  the 
whole  fabric  of  the  moral  world. 

The  endearing  relations  of  father  and  mother,  of 
brothers  and  sisters,  and  all  the  other  ramifications  of 
kindi'ed,  which  now  produce  so  many  interesting  and  de¬ 
lightful  associations,  would  fail  to  be  recognized  among 
men  :  for  in  such  a  state  of  society,  the  natural  relations 
of  mankind  would  either  be  disregarded,  or  blended  in 
undistinguishable  confusion. 

The  foundation  of  all  regular  government  would  be 
undermined  ;  for  it  is  chiefly  in  those  habits  of  submission 
and  obedience  which  are  acquired  under  the  domestic 
roof,  that  the  foundations  are  laid  of  that  subordination 
which  is  necessary  to  secure  the  peace  and  order  of 
mankind.  Society  would  constantly  be  thrown  into  a 
state  of  disorder,  and  anarchy,  and  bloodshed. 

The  earth  would  cease  to  be  cultivated,  and  would 
soon  be  covered  with  briers  and  thorns,  or  changed  into 
barren  wastes. 

To  complete  the  picture,  it  would  be  necessary,  in 
imagination,  to  multiply  a  thousand  or  ten  thousand  fold 
the  receptacles  of  impurity  that  now  infect  and  demoralize 
both  city  and  country  in  every  land  ;  and  to  estimate  the 
evil  of  all  the  impiety,  profanity,  thefts,  robberies,  mur- 


CENSURABLE  LEVITY  OF  SPEECH. 


351 


ders,  treachery,  perjury,  drunkenness,  and  infamous  pol¬ 
lution  and  disease  and  misery  of  every  kind,  by  which 
such  receptacles  are  distinguished. 

734.  There  is  a  certain  levity  of  speech,  in  relation  to 
this  subject,  prevailing  among  many  who  wish  to  be  con¬ 
sidered  as  respectable  characters,  which  proceeds  from  a 
contracted  view  of  the  consequences  of  human  actions. 
They  conceive  that  no  gi'eat  harm  can  be  done  to  society 
by  a  few  insulated  actions  of  the  kind  alluded  to,  es¬ 
pecially  if  they  be  concealed  from  general  observation ; 
and  that  the  Creator  will  be  disposed  to  make  every 
allowance  for  human  frailty. 

But  let  such  remember  that  if  it  were  right  to  violate 
this  or  any  other  law  of  the  Creator  in  one  instance,  it 
would  be  right  in  a  thousand,  in  a  million,  and  in  eight 
or  ten  hundred  millions  of  instances  ;  and  then  all  the  re¬ 
volting  scenes  now  alluded  to,  and  more,  would  inevitably 
take  place.  And,  therefore,  every  man  who,  from  levity 
and  thoughtlessness,  or  from  a  disregard  to  the  laws  of 
Heaven,  persists  in  such  unhallowed  gratifications,  in¬ 
dulges  in  a  practice  which,  were  it  universally  to  prevail, 
would  sap  the  foundations  of  all  moral  order,  exterminate 
the  most  endearing  relations  of  society,  open  the  flood¬ 
gates  of  all  iniquity,  and,  at  length,  empty  the  world  of  its 
inhabitants.  [Dr.  Dick.] 


705.  What  is  the  great  design  of  this  precept  ? 

706.  What  is  the  extent  of  this  prohibition  ? 

707.  What  proof  is  there  of  the  sacred  character  of  this  institution? 

708.  What  is  the  limit  of  this  institution? 

709.  Is  marriage  a  civil  as  well  as  a  divine  institution  ? 

710.  What  are  the  requisites  of  a  valid  marriage? 

71 1.  What  remarks  are  made  upon  the  marriage  ceremony  ? 

712.  Is  marriage  a  temporary  contract? 

713.  Is  there  no  act  which  may  legally  terminate  this  relation  during  the 
lifetime  of  the  parties? 

714.  What  are  the  duties  common  to  husband  and  wife? 

715.  What  special  duty  of  the  wife  is  first  mentioned? 

716.  What  are  the  evils  of  an  improper  attention  to  dress  ? 

717.  What  special  duty  of  the  wife  is  next  exhibited  ? 

718.  The  last  special  duty  of  the  wife  mentioned  ? 

719.  How  does  it  appear  that  God  regards  it  as  highly  beneficial  ? 

720.  What  benefits  do  experience  and  observation  prove  it  to  be  adapted 
to  bestow  ? 

721.  What  are  the  subjects  collateral  to  marriage? 

722.  How  does  it  appear  that  polygamy,  or  the  having  more  wives  than 
one  at  the  same  time,  is  contrary  to  the  law  of  God  ? 

723.  What  other  reasons  are  there  for  considering  polygamy  unlawful  ^ 

724.  What  is  meant  by  divorce  ? 


352 


DESIGN  OF  THE  EIGHTH  PRECEPT. 


725.  On  what  accounts  may  the  marriage  contract  be  dissolved  ? 

72C.  From  the  language  of  Christ,  just  quoted,  how  is  the  marriage  con¬ 
tract  to  be  regarded  ? 

727.  Did  not  God  permit  divorce,  to  the  Jewish  nation,  on  other  grounds 
beside  incontinence  ? 

728.  May  inferior  causes  justify  the  separation  of  husband  and  wife,  or 
their  living  apart  from  each  other  ? 

729.  What  cogent  reasons  are  there,  even  on  natural  principles,  for 
lawgivers  making  the  marriage  contract  indissoluble  during  the  joint  lives 
of  the  parties  ? 

730.  What  other  prominent  grounds  for  divorce,  beside  adultery,  are  as¬ 
signed  by  human  laws  ? 

731.  What  effects  are  to  be  apprehended  from  facility  in  obtaining  di¬ 
vorces  ? 

732.  How  may  we  be  aided  in  keeping  this  commandment  ? 

733.  Tendency  of  a  universal  violation  of  this  commandment? 

734.  What  levity  of  speech,  in  relation  to  this  subject,  ought  to  be  cen¬ 
sured,  and  laid  aside  ? 


EIGHTH  COMMANDMENT. 

“  Thou  shall  not  steal." 

735.  I.  The  design  of  this  commandment  is  to  guard 
property  against  fraud  and  open  violence.  It  places  a 
sacred  inclosure  around  it,  into  which  no  person  must 
enter  without  the  consent  of  the  proprietor. 

The  commandment  implies  that  individuals  have  an 
exclusive  right  to  the  possession  and  disposal  of  certain 
things ;  that  others  have,  of  course,  no  right  to  interfere 
with  the  possession  of  them ;  and  it  also  implies  that 
there  is  a  tendency  in  human  nature  to  such  interference, 
which  requires  to  be  suppressed  by  law,  divine  as  well 
as  human. 

When  the  Creator  had  aiTanged  our  globe  in  the  form 
in  which  we  now  behold  it,  he  furnished  it  with  every¬ 
thing  requisite  for  the  support  and  accommodation  of 
living  beings,  and  bestowed  the  whole  of  its  riches  and 
decorations  as  a  free  grant  to  the  sons  of  men.  The 
earth  has,  in  every  age,  brought  forth  abundance  to  sup¬ 
ply  the  wants  of  all  the  living  beings  it  contains ;  and 
there  is  still  ample  room  on  its  surface  for  the  accommo¬ 
dation  and  support  of  thousands  of  millions  of  the  human 
race,  in  addition  to  those  which  now  exist.  But  man¬ 
kind  have  never  yet  agreed  about  the  division  of  this 
ample  gift  of  the  Creator ;  for  every  one  is  disposed  to 
think  that  his  share  in  it  is  too  small,  and  is  continually 
attempting  to  make  inroads  upon  the  allotment  of  his 
neighbors.  To  this  disposition  is  to  be  ascribed  more 


RIGHT  OF  PROPERTY. 


353 


than  one  half  of  all  the  evils  which  have  afflicted  the 
world  in  every  age  since  the  fall  of  man. 

To  counteract  such  a  propensity  in  mankind,  and  to 
regulate  their  conduct  in  relation  to  property,  is  the 
great  object  of  this  command,  “  Thou  shall  not  steal.” 

II.  Right  of  Property. 

736.  It  is  unnecessary  to  engage  in  an  inquiry  how 
property  is  acquired.  The  subject  has  been  discussed 
by  philosophers,  and  different  theories  have  been  pro¬ 
posed  and  defended. 

(1.)  It  has  been  said  to  originate  in  the  right  of  occu- 
yyancy ;  or,  that  he  who  first  took  possession  of  a  part  of 
the  common  field  of  nature,  became  its  rightful  pro¬ 
prietor.  This  implies  more  than  first  discovering,  or 
visiting :  it  supposes  the  actual  occupancy  and  care  of 
the  land. 

(2.)  It  has  been  founded  on  the  right  of  labor :  that  is, 
it  has  been  supposed  that  a  man,  by  cultivating  a  part  of 
the  soil,  was  entitled  to  claim,  not  only  the  produce,  but 
the  soil,  as  his  own. 

(3.)  It  has  been  referred  to  the  will  of  God,  who, 
having  created  all  things  for  the  use  of  man,  gave  liberty 
to  every  individual  to  appropriate  to  himself  what  was 
necessary  to  the  supply  of  his  wants. 

(4.)  Without  troubling  ourselves  with  the  discussion  of 
these  theories,  it  is  sufficient  to  remark,  that,  in  a  state  of 
society,  property  is  asceitained  and  guarded  by  the  law 
of  the  land.  As  it  points  out  the  various  ways  in  which 
it  may  be  acquired,  and  secures  it  to  the  rightful  pos¬ 
sessor,  so  it  determines  in  all  controversies  which  arise 
between  two  or  more  individuals,  who  is  the  rightful 
owner  of  a  field,  a  house,  money,  &c. 

III.  Nature  of  the  Act  prohibited  in  the  Eighth  Precept. 

737.  The  act  here  prohibited,  is  the  appropriation  to 
ourselves,  by  our  own  act,  encouragement,  or  connivance, 
(f  that  which  we  hnow  belongs  to  another. 

A  man  would  not  be  chargeable  with  stealing,  who 
should  seize  another  man’s  property,  believing  it  to  be 
his  own,  and  should  endeavor  to  establish  his  claim  to  it 
at  law :  although  his  right  was  not  valid,  his  intentions 


354 


VARIOUS  CLASSES  OF  THEFT. 


would  not  bo  dishonest.  But  he  is  a  transgressor  of  this 
commandment,  who  takes  what  he  knows  belongs  to 
another  man ;  and  although  he  shall  have  attained  the 
sanction  of  law  by  such  acts  as  the  unprincipled  too 
often  employ,  he  is  a  thieP  or  robber  in  the  estimation 
of  God.  ^ 

Upon  the  obvious  principle  that  this  commandment  is 
virtually  invaded  when  we  possess  ourselves,  or  remain 
in  possession,  of  that  which  rightfully  belongs  to  another, 
a  distribution  may  be  made  of  offenses,  into  the  follow¬ 
ing  or  similar  classes. 

IV.  Various  Classes  of  Theft  Prohibited. 

(1.)  Domestic  Theft — 

738.  Where  children  secrete,  for  their  own  use,  the 
property  of  their  parents.  This  kind  of  theft  generally 
is  that  which  prepares  the  way  for  more  open  theft,  and 
should  be  effectually  suppressed  at  the  earliest  period. 
“  Whoso  robbeth  his  father  or  his  mother,  and  saith.  It  is 
no  transgression ;  the  same  is  the  companion  of  a  de¬ 
stroyer.”  Prov.  xxviii.  24. 

Domestic  theft  is  also  practiced  by  servants,  when 
they  take  something  belonging  to  their  masters  or  em¬ 
ployers  which  they  would  not  feel  at  liberty  to  take  if 
these  were  observing  them.  The  value  of  the  thing 
does  not  affect  the  nature  of  the  act.  It  is  as  truly 
stealing,  to  take  without  leave  one  cent  as  one  hundred. 
“  Exhort  servants  to  be  obedient  to  their  own  masters ; 
not  purloining,  but  showing  all  good  fidelity.”  Tit.  ii. 
9,  10. 

(2.)  Common  Theft. 

739.  This  has  been  sufficiently  explained.  It  is  dis¬ 
tinguished  from  rohhery  only  in  the  manner  of  commit¬ 
ting' it.  The  fornier  is  secret;  the  latter  is  more  bold 
and  open.  Robbery  is  accompanied  with  violence, 
threatened  or  actually  employed,  to  compel  a  surrender 
or  to  overcome  resistance. 

(3.)  Sacrilege — 

740.  Theft  of  the  property  belonging  to  a  church,  or 
of  anything  devoted  to  the  service  of  God. 

This  crime  is  comparatively  rare,  partly  because  the 


PECULATION. 


355 


temptations  to  it  are  neither  frequent  nor  great ;  partly 
because  men  are  restrained  by  a  sense  of  religion ;  and 
partly  because  it  would  cover  the  guilty  with  indelible 
infamy.  “  Will  a  man  rob  God?  Yet  ye  have  robbed 
me — in  tithes  and  offerings.  Ye  ai'e  cursed  with  a 
cui'se.”  These  tithes  were  required  to  be  paid  for  the 
support  of  the  ministers,  and  sacrifices  of  the  temple 
service.  This  would  seem  to  teach  that,  under  the  New 
Testament  economy,  the  withholding  of  due  support  to 
ministers  of  the  Gospel  is  also  robbery  of  God,  when  the 
people  ai’e  able  to  give  such  support. 

(4.)  Peculation — 

741,  Theft  of  the  puhlic  money :  the  concealing  and 
devoting  to  private  use  any  public  property.  This  crime 
is  often  committed,  and  by  persons  who  pass  in  the 
world  for  honorable  men,  and  who  look  down  with  in- 
eft’able  contempt  upon  the  obscure  culprit  who  practices 
his  depredations  upon  a  confined  scale.  It  is  as  unjust 
secretly  to  take  the  property  of  the  community  as  of  an 
individual;  in  the  former  case  many  are  injured,  in  the 
latter,  one  only.  “  Render,  therefore,  to  all  their  dues ; 
custom  to  whom  custom.”  This  prohibits  all  evading  of 
the  duties  and  taxes  imposed  by  government;  also  of 
post-office  claims. 

The  man  of  office,  who,  by  embezzlement  or  unfair 
exactions  and  charges,  fills  his  purse  out  of  the  public 
treasury,  stands  on  a  lower  level,  in  respect  to  moral 
guilt,  than  the  contemptible  wretch  who  goes  fr'om  house 
to  house,  pilfering  whatever  he  can  find. 

“  For  services  rendered  to  public  bodies  almost  all 
men  demand  a  greater  reward  than  they  would  dare  to 
claim  from  individuals.  For  commodities  sold  to  them, 
they  demand  a  higher  price ;  seeming  to  think  that  there 
is  no  wrong  in  demanding  more  of  puhlic  bodies  for  the 
sarne  service,  or  the  same  commodity ,  than  of  individuals, 
because  p>ublic  bodies  are  more  able  to  ptay.  In  settling 
accounts  with  them,  they  claim  gi'eater  allowances ;  and 
in  every  transaction  plainly  intend  to  get  more  than 
custom  and  equity  have  permitted  in  the  piavate  business 
of  mankind.  The  single  article  of  perquisites  is  a  gulf 
of  voracity  which  has  no  bottom.”  [Dr.  Dwight.] 


356 


THEFTS  OF  AGENTS. 


(5.)  Thefts  of  Steicardship  or  Agency. 

742.  These  are  committed  by  agents,  whether  stewards, 
executors  of  wills,  or  others  to  whom  business  is  intrusted, 
W'hen  they  misuse,  waste,  or  keep  back  the  property  whose 
management  has  been  intrusted  to  them.  “  It  is  required 
of  stewards  that  a  man  be  found  faithful.”  1  Cor.  iv.  2. 

743.  The  following  cases  are  cited  by  Dr.  Ely,  in  his 
“  Synopsis”  ; — 

A  certain  executor  retained  the  property  of  some 
orphan  children  in  his  own  hands,  to  the  detriment  of 
their  estate.  He  did  not,  When  able,  refund  the  sums  he 
had  received,  with  lawful  interest.  The  heirs  were  satis¬ 
fied,  because  they  supposed  they  had  received  their  due, 
when  in  fact  they  were  cheated  :  that  executor  was  a 
thief  an  oppressor  of  the  fatherless. 

A  certain  civil  officer  took,  by  virtue  of  attachment, 
the  property  of  his  neighbor,  but,  to  favor  himself  or  a 
friend,  did  not  dispose  of  it  to  the  best  of  his  ability :  he 
was  a  thief. 

A  certain  judge  promoted  his  own  interest  to  the  dis¬ 
advantage  of  another,  when  the  forms  of  law  gave  him  a 
veil  to  cover  the  deception ;  and  was  found  guilty,  not 
by  a  jury  of  his  countrymen,  but  by  his  own  conscience, 
of  willfully  injuring  another  in  his  estate. 

A  consignee  received  the  property  of  another  in  dis¬ 
tressed  cu'cumstances,  and  because  the  owner  of  the 
goods  could  not  investigate  the  matter,  cheated  him  out 
of  a  part,  by  informing  him  they  sold  for  less  than  they 
actually  did.  This  man  was  a  thief. 

Another  agent  did  not  make  accurate  returns,  esti¬ 
mated  goods  at  a  higher  price  than  he  actually  paid  out 
of  his  employer’s  money  :  took  pay  for  his  labor,  and,  in 
addition,  a  secret  profit  upon  the  articles  purchased. 
This  is  stealing. 

Children  sometimes  commence  this  wicked  practice, 
by  defrauding  their  parents  or  masters,  when  sent  to 
purchase  some  article,  to  which  they  affix  a  higher  price 
than  they  gave,  and  keep  their  gains  of  dishonesty  for 
private  expenditure. 

The  Eighth  Commandment  is  broken  too,  when  men 
waste  the  property  of  others  which  is  committed  to  their 
care,  or  permit  it  to  be  Avasted  by  their  children,  or  other 


THEFT  OP  CONCEALMENT. 


857 


persons ;  when  they  suffer  it  to  go  to  decay,  and  do  not 
-  use  the  means  of  improving  it  which  are  in  their  power, 
and  which  they  were  bound  by  their  engagements  to 
employ.  In  this  way  many  are  guilty  of  a  breach  of  this 
commandment  who  do  not  suspect  their  own  honesty,  and 
would  consider  themselves  insulted  if  it  were  called  in 
question  by  others. 

(6.)  Theft  of  Concealment. 

744.  This  crime  belongs  to  those  who  find  and  use  lost 
property  without  endeavoring  to  ascertain  the  lawful 
owner.  “  Thou  shalt  not  see  thy  brother’s  ox  or  his 
sheep  go  astray,  and  hide  thyself  from  them ;  thou  shalt 
in  any  case  bring  them  again  to  thy  brother.  In  like 
manner  shalt  thou  do  with  his  raiment,  and  with  all  lost 
things  of  thy  brother’s  which  thou  hast  found.” 

Children  should  never  keep  anything  secretly  which 
belongs  to  a  companion.  Many  who  have  concealed 
some  plaything,  found  at  school  or  elsewhere,  and  used 
it  as  if  it  were  their  own,  have  afterward  become  more 
daring  thieves.  From  the  concealing  of  a  penknife,  or 
pencil,  or  any  other  small  article,  they  have  gone  to  the 
robbing  of  a  fruit-tree  ;  from  pilfering  out  of  gardens  the 
tempting  melons,  to  the  plundering  of  a  cornfield,  a  cel¬ 
lar,  or  storehouse  ;  and,  from  house-breaking,  to  murder 
and  the  scaffold. 

To  conceal  theft  in  others,  or  to  share  the  fruit  of  their 
iniquity,  belongs  to  the  same  species.  “  When  thou 
sawest  a  thief,  thou  consentedst  with  him ;  but  whoso  is 
partner  with  a  thief,  hateth  his  own  soul.” 

[Ely’s  Synopsis.] 

(7.)  Theft  of  Trade. 

745.  This  is  practiced  if  the  seller  puts  off  anything  for 
a  better  article  than  it  really  is,  by  false  assertions  or  de¬ 
ceitful  acts ;  if  he  takes  advantage  of  the  buyer’s  igno¬ 
rance,  or  particular  necessities,  or  good  opinion  of  him, 
to  insist  on  a  larger  price  for  it  than  the  current  value  ; 
or  if  he  gives  less  in  quantity  than  he  professes,  or  is 
understood  to  give  ;  or  if  he  adulterates  his  goods,  and, 
consequently,  sells  them  at  a  price  which  they  would  not 
have  brought  if  their  state  had  been  known. 

To  the  practice  of  concealing  the  faults  of  what  w© 


358 


THEFTS  OF  TRADE. 


want  to  put  off,  may  be  refen’ed  the  practice  of  passing 
had  money,  the  vulgar  excuse  being  offered  that  we  have 
taken  the  money  for  good,  and  must  therefore  get  rid  of 
it.  This  excuse  is  much  the  same  as  if  one  who  had  been 
robbed  upon  the  highway  should  allege  that  he  had  a 
right  to  reimburse  himself  out  of  the  pocket  of  the  first 
traveler  he  met ;  the  justice  of  which  reasoning  the  trav¬ 
eler  possibly  may  not  comprehend. 

On  the  other  hand,  this  theft  is  practiced  by  the  hvyer 
when  he  depi'eciates  the  article  he  would  purchase,  con¬ 
trary  to  his  knowledge  of  its  value ;  when  he  takes  ad¬ 
vantage  of  his  own  wealth  and  the  poverty  or  present 
distresses  of  the  seller,  to  beat  down  the  price  of  his  mer¬ 
chandise  beyond  reason  ;  or  when  he  buys  up  the  whole 
of  a  necessary  commodity,  to  make  immoderate  gain  of 
it ;  or  when  he  refuses  or  neglects  to  pay  for  what  he  has 
bought,  or  delays  his  payment  beyond  the  time  within 
which,  by  agreement,  or  the  known  course  of  traffic,  they 
ought  to  be  made. 

The  law  of  God  thus  notices  these  offenses : — “  It  is 
naught,  it  is  naught,  saith  the  buyer ;  but  when  he  is  gone 
his  way,  then  he  boasteth.”  Prov.  xx.  14.  “  If  thou  sell 

aught  unto  thy  neighbor,  or  buyest  aught  of  thy  neigh¬ 
bor’s  hand,  ye  shall  not  oppress  one  another.”  “  Let  no 
man  go  beyond  and  defraud  his  brother  in  any  matter ; 
because  the  Lord  is  the  avenger  of  all  such.”  “A  false 
balance  is  an  abomination  to  the  Lord ;  but  a  just  weight 
is  his  delight.”  Prov.  xi.  1. 

Again,  “  any  one  who  j^urchases  without  an  intention  of 
paying,  or  without  seeing  prohahle  means  of  satisfying  just 
demands  upon  him,  is  really  no  better  than  a  person  who 
should  come  in  the  night  and  drive  your  oxen  from  their 
stalls.”  Yet,  in  the  maxim  of  some,  “  if  you  sink,  sink 
in  deep  water;”  or,  in  other  words,  if  you  must  break, 
and  cannot  pay  all  your  debts,  make  as  many  more,  and 
cheat  as  many  persons  as  possible — be  as  much  a  knave 
as  possible  !  These  principles  of  iniquity  have  become 
very  fashionable,  in  some  well  dressed  thieves  that  strut 
at  large,  and  tell  you,  by  their  daily  expenses,  that  they 
closed  their  business  to  retire  from  the  bustle  of  the  world 
and  live  like  gentlemen  of  pleasure.  Such  are  thieves 
and  robbers  ;  for,  knowingly  to  involve  an  innocent  man, 
under  the  pretense  of  trade,  is  carvying  away,  contrary 


THEFTS  OF  BORROWING. 


359 


to  his  knowledge  and  consent,  his  hard-earned  interest  to 
support  our  extravagance.”  [Ely’s  Synopsis.] 

(8.)  Thefts  of  Borrowing. 

746.  The  commandment  is  violated  by  borrowing  on 
fraudulent  securities  or  false  representations  of  our  cir¬ 
cumstances,  or  without  intention  or  proper  care  afterward 
to  repay,  preferring  the  gratification  of  our  own  covetous¬ 
ness,  our  vanity,  our  voluptuousness,  our  indolence,  before 
the  satisfying  of  our  just  debts.  Of  the  same  sort  is  the 
practice  of  denying  a  debt,  or  refusing  to  make  restora¬ 
tion,  or  taking  advantage  of  some  legal  quirk  to  evade 
payment,  or  remoyfing  to  a  place  beyond  the  reach  of 
creditors,  or  taking  unjust  advantage  of  insolvent  laws, 
and  refusing  afterward,  when  able,  to  pay  debts  from 
which  such  laws  may  have  released  us. 

The  frauds  connected  with  the  borrowing  of  property 
ought  here  to  be  noticed. 

The  commandment  is  virtually  transgressed  by  those 
who,  through  negligence,  allow  an  article  loaned  to  them 
to  be  injured,  and  do  not  repair  the  injury;  also,  when 
an  article  of  inferior  value  is  returned  in  place  of  that 
which  was  borrowed. 

There  is  moral  wrong  in  unreasonably  detaining  in  our 
possession  whatever  has  been  loaned  to  us  for  a  moderate 
or  specified  time ;  also  in  employing  that  which  is  lent 
for  purposes  and  in  ways  not  contemplated  by  the  lender. 
This  wrong  is  often  committed  by  children  absent  from 
home,  at  school,  using  the  money  intrusted  to  them  for 
necessary  expenses  in  other  modes  of  expenditure  incon¬ 
sistent  with  the  parents’  command  or  known  wishes  and 
expectations. 

(9.)  Theft  of  Usury. 

747.  It  is  considered  a  breach  of  this  commandment  to 
demand  exorbitant  interest  for  lending  to  ignorant  or 
thoughtless  persons,  or  to  extravagant  ones  for  carrying 
on  their  extravagance ;  or  to  necessitous  ones,  whose 
necessities  it  must  continually  increase,  and  make  their 
ruin,  after  a  while,  more  certain,  more  difficult  to  retrieve, 
and  more  hurtful  to  all  with  whom  they  are  concerned. 

The  Jewish  law  forbade  all  interest  for  the  use  of 
money  among  the  Jews,  because  it  was  not  consistent 


3G0  THEFTS  OP  CONTRACTS  AND  OF  MISCHIEF. 

with  their  peculiar  circumstances  and  training  as  a  peo¬ 
ple  to  allow  it ;  but  they  were  not  forbidden  to  lend  to 
the  people  of  other  nations  upon  interest. 

(10.)  Theft  relating  to  Contracts. 

748.  This  relates  to  driving  bargains  that  we  know  are 
too  hard,  or  insisting  rigidly  on  the  perfoiTnance  of  them 
after  they  appear  to  be  so  ;  making  no  abatements,  when 
bad  times  or  unexpected  losses,  or  other  alterations  of 
circumstances  call  for  them ;  not  inquiring  into  the 
grounds  of  complaints  when  there  is  a  likelihood  of  then- 
being  just;  keeping  persons  to  the  very  word  and  letter 
of  an  agreement,  contrary  to  the  equitable  intention  of  it ; 
or,  on  the  other  hand,  alleging  some  flaw  or  defect  in  the 
form,  to  get  loose  from  an  agreement  which  ought  to  have 
been  strictly  observed.  Though  some  of  these  things 
may  not  be  illegal,  yet  they  do  not  comport  with  the  spirit 
of  this  commandment.  Human  laws  cannot  provide  for 
all  cases,  and  sometimes  the  vilest  iniquity  may  be  com¬ 
mitted  under  their  authority,  and  by  their  means. 

To  the  illustrations  given  under  this  head  we  may  add 
another :  it  is  when  hired  servants,  or  workmen  of  any 
sox’t,  are  ill  used  in  their  wages,  whether  by  giving  them 
too  little,  or,  which  is  full  as  bad,  deferring  payment  too 
long.  The  word  of  God  forbids  the  last  in  strong  terms  : 
“  Thou  shalt  not  defraud  thy  neighbor,  neither  rob  him; 
the  wages  of'  him  that  is  hired  shall  not  abide  with  thee 
(meaning,  if  demanded  or  w-anted)  all  night  until  the 
morning.  At  his  day  shalt  thou  give  him  his  hire,  neither 
shall  the  sun  go  down  upon  it.”  But  this  matter  we  have 
considered  under  the  Fifth  Commandment. 

(11.)  Thefts  of  Mischief. 

749.  There  are  those  whose  habits  of  injustice,  envy, 
or  some  other  base  passion,  prompt  them  ”  to  mar  and 
deface  handsome  buildings  and  fences,  to  root  up  or  cut 
down  trees  and  shrubs  planted  for  shade  and  for  orna¬ 
ment.  One  would  think  that,  in  the  view  of  such  minds, 
beauty,  and  elegance  were  public  nuisances,  and  that  to 
have  contributed  to  adorn  one’s  country  with  the  delight¬ 
ful  productions  of  nature  and  art  is  a  trespass  upon  the 
common  good. 

”  Another  class  of  frauds,  possessing  the  same  nature, 


THEFTS  OF  LITIGATION  AND  OF  WITHHOLDING.  361 

is  seen  in  most  places,  at  least  in  this  country,  in  the 
abuses  of  public  jtroperty.  Public  buildings  are  almost 
everywhere  injured  and  defaced  :  the  windows  are  bro¬ 
ken  ;  the  doors,  wainscoting,  pillars,  and  other  appurte¬ 
nances  formed  of  wood,  are  shamefully  carved  and  hack¬ 
ed  ;  the  courts,  balustrades,  and  other  vulnerable  articles 
are  mangled  and  destroyed — in  a  word,  injuries  of  this 
nature  are  endless,  and  all  of  them  are  scandalous  frauds, 
useless  to  the  perpetrators,  wounding  to  every  man  of 
integrity  and  taste,  discouragements  to  public  improve¬ 
ment,  and  sources  of  public  deformity  and  disgrace.” 

[Dr.  Dwight.] 

(12.)  Thefts  of  Litigation. 

750.  It  is  a  breach  of  the  spirit  of  this  commandment, 
when  one  person  puts  another  to  the  charge  and  hazard  of 
law,  unjustly  or  needlessly;  or  in  ever  so  necessary  a 
lawsuit,  occasions  unnecessary  expenses,  and  contrives 
unfair  delays :  in  short,  when  anything  is  done  by  either 
party,  by  the  counsel  that  plead  or  advise  in  the  cause,  or 
by  the  judge  who  determines  it.  contrary  to  real  justice 
and  equity. 

(13.)  Theft  of  Withholding. 

751.  When  persons,  by  any  means  whatever,  withhold 
from  another  his  right ;  either  keeping  him  ignorant  of  it, 
or  forcing  him  to  uni’easonable  cost  or  trouble  to  obtain 
it;  this,  in  its  proportion,  is  the  same  kind  of  injury  with 
stealing  from  him.  This  is  often  practiced  upon  the 
poor  ;  but  not  unfrequently  also  upon  the  rich.  Though 
the  person  who  is  wi’onged  be  ever  so  wealthy,  still  his 
wealth  is  his  own,  and  no  one  can  have  more  right  to 
take  the  least  part  of  it  from  him  without  his  consent, 
than  to  rob  the  meanest  wretch  in  the  world.  The  same 
remarks  apply  to  the  government,  or  the  public,  when 
defrauded.  The  crime  is  the  same,  whoever  be  the 
sufferer. 

(14.)  Theft  of  Participation. 

752.  Whatever  things  it  is  unlawful  to  do,  it  is  also 
unlawful  to  advise,  encourage,  help,  or  protect  others  in 
doing :  hence  the  buying,  receiving,  or  concealing  stolen 
goods,  known  or  suspected  to  be  such,  is  becoming  a 
partner  in  the  stealth.  The  being  in  any  way,  a  patron. 


3C2  THEFTS  OF  FORGERY  AND  OF  GAMBLING. 

assistant,  or  tool  of  injustice,  is  no  less  evidently  wrong, 
than  being  the  immediate  and  principal  agent  in  it. 

(15.)  Thefts  of  Forgery  and  Counterfeiting. 

753.  The  first  of  these  consists  in  making  or  altering 
any  written  instrument  with  the  intention  to  defraud  or 
wrong  any  person.  The  other  consists  in  making  false 
and  base  coin  ;  in  preparing  false  bank-notes  or  fraudu¬ 
lently  altering  true  notes.  The  civil  law  makes  it  crim¬ 
inal  not  only  to  make  or  pass  sxich  coins  or  notes,  but  to 
hold  in  possession  any  engraved  plate  or  notes  unsigned, 
which  aie  intended  to  be  used  for  such  purposes. 

(16.)  Theft  of  Gamhling. 

754.  This  is  a  direct  method  by  which  we  injure  the 
property  of  others.  It  cherishes,  and  calls  into  exercise, 
the  desire  to  acquire  what  others  possess,  and  thus  leads 
to  a  violation  of  the  law  of  God. 

There  are  but  two  possible  methods  by  which  we  can 
acquire  property  from  others  honestly  :  either  by  free 
gift,  or  by  rendering  an  equivalent  for  what  we  receive. 
In  gambling  it  is  received  in  neither  of  these  ways.  The 
gambler  may  lay  his  account  with  losing  a  certain  sum, 
but  not  with  freely  giving  away ;  and  the  only  equivalent 
which  he  obtains  is  the  chance,  as  it  is  called,  of  depriving 
another,  contrary  to  his  intention,  of  a  part  of  his  property. 
Nor  would  he  hazard  his  own  at  all,  but  that  it  is  neces¬ 
sary  for  him  to  do  so,  in  order  to  get  possession  of  that 
which  is  not  his.  The  money  lost  is  lost  contrary  to  the 
wish,  the  design,  and  consequently  to  the  proper  consent 
of  the  persons  losing ;  while  the  winner  holds  it  by  no 
better  tenure,  according  to  the  laws  of  morality,  than  the 
thief  or  the  robber. 

The  gambler,  therefore,  is  guilty  of  a  direct  violation 
of  the  law  of  God,  in  plundering  the  property  of  others, 
and  reducing  them  to  poverty  and  wretchedness;  and 
proves  himself  by  such  conduct  to  be  void  of  piety,  be¬ 
nevolence,  or  humanity.  He  is  a  source  of  evil  by  his 
example,  as  well  as  by  his  actions  ;  a  corrupter  of  youth, 
stealing  from  them  not  their  propeity  only,  but  what  is 
infinitely  more  valuable,  their  virtue  and  their  happiness ; 
and  doing  all  in  his  power  to  prevent  their  retreat  from 
the  road  that  inevitably  leads  to  present  and  futui'e  ruin. 


THEFT  OF  PERSONS  AND  PERSONAL  RIGHTS.  363 


If  it  be  said  by  tbe  advocate  of  gambling,  that  every 
man  has  an  exclusive  right  to  the  use  of  his  property,  it 
is  to  be  remarked,  by  way  of  qualification,  that  every 
man  is  also  a  steward,  and  is  accountable  to  the  Pro¬ 
prietor  of  all  for  the  way  in  which  he  employs  it.  As  it 
is  manifestly  the  design  of  God  that  the  gifts  which  he 
bestows  should  be  expended  in  useful  and  beneficent  pur¬ 
poses — in  diffusing  happiness — we  are  not  at  liberty  to 
appropriate  them  to  other  ends,  or  foolishly  to  waste 
them  :  much  less,  dispose  of  them  for  unworthy  purposes 
— for  encouraging  vice.  [Dewar.] 

These  are  some  of  the  various  modes  in  which  the 
commandment  relating  to  property  is  violated.  Others 
might  be  specified.  We  shall  add  but  one  more. 

(17.)  Theft  of  Persons  and  Personal  Rights. 

755.  This  being  the  most  serious  and  criminal  kind  of 
theft,  has  been  reserved  for  consideration  last.  It  brings 
to  view  one  of  the  most  vexed  and  difficult  subjects  in 
the  whole  range  of  moral  discussion  ;  one  which  in  late 
years  has  awakened  more  interest,  and  occasioned  more 
acrimony  and  danger,  than  almost  any  other;  one,  how¬ 
ever,  that  cannot  with  propriety  be  omitted  in  a  work  of 
this  kind;  one  upon  which  a  right  opinion  should  be 
formed,  and  right  action  taken  by  every  American  citi¬ 
zen.  No  subject  has  the  author  approached  with  more 
diffidence  and  fear  than  this  ;  lest  amid  the  great  dis¬ 
cordance  of  views  entertained  even  by  great  and  good 
men,  he  should  fail  to  present  such  a  view  of  the  matter 
as  the  divine  law,  and  the  Scriptures  generally,  sanction 
and  require.  He  claims  no  superior  wisdom  or  judg¬ 
ment,  but  is  obliged,  under  a  sense  of  his  personal 
responsibility,  to  present  what  he  considers  the  sober 
truth  upon  the  great  question  of  American  Slavery  ;  and, 
as  in  other  parts  of  the  work,  so  in  this,  he  will  freely 
introduce  the  thoughts  and  language  of  other  and  abler 
minds  than  his  own.  No  attempt  will  be  made,  for  there 
is  not  space,  to  present  the  subject  in  all  its  bearings  ; 
but  to  offer  only  some  general  views,  such  as  are  de¬ 
manded  in  a  treatise  on  Moral  Philosophy.  Those  who 
desire  a  more  full  discussion  can  obtain  their  object  by 
reading  the  works  of  Albert  Barnes,  Drs.  Fuller  and 
Way  land,  and  Dr.  Channing. 


364 


SLAVERY - ITS  CHARACTERISTICS. 


V.  Slavery. 

756.  The  first  important  question  that  claims  our 
attention,  is,  whether  slavery,  in  its  essential  characters, 
possesses  such  attributes  as  entitle  it  to  be  ranked  among 
the  violations  of  the  Eighth  Commandment.  To  settle 
this  question  is  the  object  of  the  present  article. 

The  character  of  complete  slavery  is,  that  it  deprives 
the  slave  unjustly  of  all  his  rights:  and  what  property 
can  be  more  dear  than  these  1  In  confirmation  of  this 
charge  against  slavery.  Dr.  Channing  advances  and  de¬ 
monstrates  the  following  positions  : — 

Slavery  violates,  not  one,  but  all  rights ;  and  violates 
them,  not  incidentally,  but  necessarily,  systematically, 
from  its  very  nature.  In  starting  with  the  assumption 
that  the  slave  is  property,  it  sweeps  away  every  defense 
of  human  rights  and  lays  them  in  the  dust. 

(1.)  Slavery  strips  man  of  the  fundamental  right  to 
inquire  into,  consult,  and  seek  his  own  happiness.  His 
powers  belong  to  another,  and  for  another  they  must  be 
used. 

(2.)  The  slave  is  forbidden  to  acquire  property.  Being 
himself  owned,  his  earnings  are  the  property  of  another. 
He  can  possess  nothing  but  by  favor. 

(3.)  The  slave  is  stripped  of  his  right  to  his  wife  and 
children.  They  belong  to  another,  and  may  be  tom  from 
him,  one  and  all,  at  any  moment,  at  his  master’s  pleasure. 

(4.)  He  is  stripped  of  the  right  to  the  culture  of  his 
rational  powers  ;  nor  is  he  allowed  to  toil  that  his  children 
may  enjoy  a  better  education  than  himself. 

(5.)  He  is  deprived  of  the  right  of  self-defense.  No 
injury  from  a  white  man  is  he  suffered  to  repel,  nor  can 
he  seek  redress  from  the  laws  of  his  country. 

(6.)  He  is  stripped  of  the  right  to  be  exempted  from 
all  harm  except  for  wrong  doing. 

(7.)  He  suffers  the  wrong  of  robbery.  Whatever  he 
may  be  denied  by  man,  he  holds  from  nature  the  most 
valuable  property,  and  that  from  which  all  other  is  de¬ 
rived — his  strength.  To  the  gi'eat  mass,  in  all  countries, 
their  strength  or  labor  is  their  whole  fortune.  To  seize 
on  this  would  be  to  rob  them  of  their  all.  In  truth,  no 
rohhery  is  so  great  as  that  to  which  the  slave  is  habitually 
subjected.  To  take  by  force  a  man’s  whole  estate,  the 


NATURE  OF  SLAVERY. 


365* 


fruit  of  years  of  toil,  would,  by  universal  consent,  be  de¬ 
nounced  as  a  great  wrong ;  but  what  is  this  compared 
with  seizing  the  man  himself,  and  appropriating  to  our 
use  the  limbs,  faculties,  strength,  and  labor,  by  which  all 
property  is  won  and  held  fast  ]  The  right  of  property 
in  outward  things  is  as  nothing,  compared  with  our  right 
to  ourselves.  Were  the  slaveholder  stripped  of  his  for¬ 
tune,  he  would  count  the  violence  slight,  compared  with 
what  he  would  suffer,  were  his  person  seized  and  devoted 
as  a  chattel  to  another’s  use. 

757.  That  the  above  are  not  groundless  assertions,  but 
a  true  account  of  the  domestic  institution  at  the  South, 
could  easily  be  shown  by  quoting  from  published  laws 
there  enacted,  and  either  enforced,  or  liable  to  be  enfor¬ 
ced  upon  any  slave.  The  Louisiana  code  declares:  “A 
slave  is  in  the  power  of  the  master  to  whom  he  belongs. 
The  master  may  sell  him,  dispose  of  his  person,  his  in¬ 
dustry,  his  labor.  He  can  do  nothing,  possess  nothing, 
nor  acquire  anything  but  which  must  belong  to  his  mas¬ 
ter.”  The  laws  of  South  Carolina  say:  “Slaves  shall 
be  deemed,  taken,  reported,  and  adjudged,  to  be  chattels 
personal  in  the  hands  of  their  masters,  and  possessions  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  whatsoever.” 

758.  That  the  above  view  of  slavery  is  correct,  will 
further  be  substantiated  by  quoting  the  testimony  of  the 
Rev.  R.  J.  Breckenridge,  D.D.,  who  was  born  and  edu¬ 
cated  in  a  slave  state,  and  still  resides  in  a  slave  state, 
and  must  therefore  be  well  acquainted  with  the  morals 
and  usages  of  the  South.  He  says  : — 

“  What  is  slavery  as  it  exists  among  us  %  We  reply,  it 
is  that  condition,  enforced  by  the  laws  of  one  half  of  the 
states  of  this  confederacy,  in  which  one  portion  of  the 
community,  called  masters,  is  allowed  such  power  over 
another,  called  slaves,  as — 

“  1st.  To  deprive  them  of  the  entire  earnings  of  their 
own  labor,  except  only  so  much  as  is  necessary  to  con¬ 
tinue  labor  itself,  by  continuing  healthful  existence,  thus 
committing  clear  robbery  : 

“  2d.  To  reduce  them  to  the  necessity  of  universal  con¬ 
cubinage  by  denying  to  them  the  civil  rights  of  marriage, 
thus  breaking  up  the  dearest  relations  of  life,  and  encour¬ 
aging  universal  prostitution  : 

“  3d.  To  deprive  them  of  the  means  and  opportunities 


36G 


A  DEFENSE  OF  SLAVERY. 


of  moial  and  intellectual  culture,  in  many  states  making 
it  a  high  penal  offense  to  teach  them  to  read;  thus  per¬ 
petuating  whatever  of  evil  there  is,  that  proceeds  from 
ignorance  : 

“4th.  To  set  up  between  parents  and  children  an  au¬ 
thority  higher  than  the  impulses  of  nature,  and  the  laws 
of  God  ;  which  breaks  up  the  authority  of  the  father  over 
his  own  offspring,  and  at  pleasure  separates  the  mother  at 
a  returnless  distance  from  her  child  ;  thus  abrogating  the 
clearest  laws  of  nature,  thus  outraging  all  decency  and 
justice,  and  degrading  and  oppressing  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  beings  created  like  themselves  in  the  image 
of  the  Most  High  God. 

“  This  is  slavery  as  it  is  daily  exhibited  in  every  slave 
state.  This  is  that  ‘  dreadful  but  unavoidable  necessity,’ 
for  which  you  may  hear  so  many  mouths  uttering  ex¬ 
cuses,  in  all  parts  of  the  land.”  [African  Repository.] 

759.  Further,  slavery  deprives  men  of  the  dignity  of 
human  beings,  and  degrades  them  to  a  level  with  mere 
beasts  of  burden.  They  are  converted,  by  slave  laws, 
from  persons  to  things,  and  treated  as  no  longer  possess¬ 
ing  the  recognized  attributes  of  human  nature.  They 
are,  in  the  eye  of  the  law,  no  longer  acknowledged  as 
men.  Their  pleasures  and  pains,  their  wishes  and  de¬ 
sires,  their  thoughts  and  feelings,  are  of  no  value  what¬ 
ever.  Even  their  crimes  are  not  acknowledged  as  wrongs, 
any  more  than  those  of  a  brute,  lest  it  may  be  supposed 
that  being  regarded  as  capable  of  doing  a  wrong,  they 
ought  to  be  regarded  as  capable  of  suffering  a  wrong. 

They  of  course  are  thus  legally  depi'ived  of  their  nature 
as  moral  beings,  having  no  law  but  the  will  of  the  master, 
like  the  brute  property  of  the  master. 

760.  It  is  pleaded,  in  favor  of  slavery,  that  the  negro  is 
a  being  inferior  to  the  white  man  in  his  faculties.  He  is 
asserted  to  approach  in  his  nature  to  the  inferior  animals  ; 
and  hence  it  is  inferred  that  he  may  be  possessed  as  a 
thing,  like  those  animals. 

761.  This  defense  of  slavery  may  easily  be  overthrown. 
The  same  faculties  of  mind  have  appeared  in  the  negro 
as  in  the  white,  so  far  as  the  condition  of  negro  nations 
has  afforded  opportunities  for  their  development.  The 
negroes  do  not  appear  to  be  duller,  ruder,  or  coarser,  in 
mind  or  habits,  than  many  savage  white  nations,  or  than 


A  DEFENSE  OF  SLAVERY  OVERTHROWN.  367 

nations,  now  highly  cultured,  were  in  their  early  condi¬ 
tion. 

The  negro  has  a  moral  nature,  discriminates  between 
right  and  wrong  in  actions.  He  has  the  same  affections 
and  springs  of  action  as  ourselves.  He  can  buy  and  sell, 
and  promise  and  perform.  He  has,  equally  with  other 
races  of  men,  moral  sentiments :  can  admire  and  love 
what  he  considers  good,  and  condemn  and  hate  what  he 
considers  bad.  He  has  the  sentiment  of  rights  and 
wrongs  also.  In  short,  there  is  no  phrase  which  can  be 
used,  describing  the  moral  and  rational  nature  of  man, 
which  may  not  be  used  of  the  negro,  as  of  the  white. 
The  asseition  that  there  is,  between  the  white  and  the 
black  race,  any  difference  on  which  the  one  can  found  a 
right  to  enslave  the  other,  is  utterly  false. 

Various  races  of  men  differ  somewhat  in  their  external 
form,  but  are  furnished  substantially  with  the  same  phys¬ 
ical  organization.  They  differ  also  greatly  in  color,  but 
why  a  white  color,  rather  than  a  black,  should  be  an  attri¬ 
bute  of  man  as  such,  it  would  be  difficult  to  show. 

The  use  of  language  is  a  plain  and  simple  criterion  of 
the  difference  between  man  and  the  brutes  ;  and  we  have 
shown  that  the  negro  possesses  other  distinguishing  attri¬ 
butes  of  the  human  nature. 

Again,  the  laws  which  prohibit  slaves  to  be  taught  to 
read  or  write  suppose  the  capacity  of  negroes  for  intel¬ 
lectual  culture  ;  and  are  an  implicit  confession  that  it  is 
necessary  to  degrade  their  minds  in  order  to  keep  their 
bodies  in  slavery. 

The  claim  of  the  negro  to  be  regarded  as  a  man  being 
thus  briefly  established,  the  charge  will  hold  good  against 
slavery  as  a  system,  that  it  is  a  violation  of  the  Eighth 
Commandment,  being  a  system  of  robbery  and  oppression 
of  the  most  decided  and  willful  character. 

[Whewell’s  Elements.] 

762.  It  comes  in  conflict  also  with  other  expressions 
of  the  will  of  God.  “  Behold,  the  hire  of  the  laborers 
who  have  reaped  down  your  fields,  which  is  of  you  kept 
back  by  fraud,  crieth ;  and  the  cries  of  them  which  have 
reaped  are  entered  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  of  Sabaoth.” 
James  v.  4.  “  Rob  not  the  poor  because  he  is  poor.” 

Prov.  xxii.  22.  “  Woe  unto  him  that  buildeth  his  house 

by  unrighteousness,  and  his  chambers  by  wrong ;  that 


368 


SLAVERY  IS  OPPRESSION. 


uscth  his  neighbor's  service  without  wages,  and  giveth  him 
not  for  his  work."  Jer.  xxii.  13.  “  The  laborer  is  worthy 

of  his  reward.”  1  Tim.  v.  18.  These  passages  condemn 
the  system  of  slavery,  in  which  a  fair  equivalent  is  con¬ 
fessedly  not  rendered  for  the  labor  performed,  so  that  the 
master  may  live  in  indolence.  If  a  fair  equivalent  were 
rendered,  the  system  would  become  so  utterly  unprofit¬ 
able,  that  it  must  soon  be  abandoned. 

Further,  the  Bible,  both  in  the  Old  and  New  Testa¬ 
ment  condemns  oppression,  as  well  as  the  withholding  of 
just  wages.  “  What  mean  ye  that  ye  beat  my  people  to 
pieces  and  grind  the  faces  of  the  poor  ]  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts.”  Is.  iii.  15.  See  also  Ps.  xii.  5  ;  James  ii.  13;  v.  4. 

Mr.  Barnes  has  remarked,  that  if  it  were  the  design  to 
originate  a  system  of  laws  for  the  very  purpose  of  oppres¬ 
sion,  scarcely  any  new  element  could  be  introduced  into 
the  laws  of  the  Southern  states;  and  that  if  all  that  prop¬ 
erly  comes  under  the  name  of  oppression  were  removed 
from  those  laws,  slavery,  as  a  system,  would  soon  come 
to  an  end. 

763.  It  is  a  question  of  some  interest,  whether  any 
moral  wrong  attaches  to  those  who  hold  slaves  by  inherit¬ 
ance  and  not  by  purchase.  To  this  the  reply  may  be 
given  in  the  forcible  language  of  Mr.  Dymond  : — 

“  He  who  had  no  right  to  steal  the  African  can  have  none 
to  sell  him.  F rom  him  who  is  known  to  have  no  rigrht  to  sell, 
another  can  have  no  right  to  buy,  or  to  possess.  Sale,  or 
gift,  or  legacy  imparts  no  right  to  me,  because  the  seller, 
or  giver,  or  bequeather  had  none  himself.  The  sufferer 
has  just  as  valid  claim  to  liberty  at  my  bands  as  at  the 
hands  of  the  ruffian  who  first  dragged  him  from  his  home. 
Every  hour  of  every  day  the  present  owner  is  guilty  of 
injustice.  Nor  is  the  case  altered  with  respect  to  those 
who  are  born  on  a  man’s  estate.  The  parents  were  never 
the  landholder’s  property,  and  therefore  the  child  is  not. 
Nay,  if  the  parents  had  been,  rightfully,  slaves,  it  would 
not  justify  me  in  making  slaves  of  their  children.  No 
man  has  a  right  to  make  a  child  a  slave,  but  the  child 
himself  (nor  even  has  he).  What  should  we  say  of  a  law 
which  enacted,  that  of  every  criminal  who  was  sentenced 
to  labor  for  life,  all  the  children  should  be  sentenced  to 
labor  also  ? 

“  That  any  human  being  who  has  not  forfeited  his  lib- 


ANOTHER  DEFENSE  OF  SLAVERY. 


369 


erty  by  his  own  crimes,  has  a  right  to  be  free,  and  that 
whosoever  forcibly  withholds  liberty  from  an  innocent 
man,  robs  him  of  his  right,  and  violates  the  moral  law, 
are  truths  which  no  man  would  dispute  or  doubt,  if  cus¬ 
tom  had  not  obscured  our  conceptions,  or  if  wickedness 
did  not  prompt  us  to  close  our  eyes.” 

764.  In  palliation  of  the  wrong  of  holding  men  as  prop¬ 
erty,  it  has  been  said,  that  a  man  has  property  in  his  wife, 
in  his  children,  in  his  domestic  animals,  in  his  fields  and 
forests  ;  and  where  it  is  said  that  one  man  is  the  property 
of  another,  it  can  only  mean  that  the  one  has  the  right  to 
use  the  other  as  a  man,  but  not  as  a  brute,  or  a  thing. 
When  this  idea  of  property  comes  to  be  analyzed,  it  is 
found  to  be  nothing  more  than  a  claim  of  service  either  for 
life,  or  for  a  term  of  years. 

But  the  error  of  this  assumption  has  been  fully  exposed 
in  the  recent  work  of  Mr.  Barnes.  He  has  shown  that 
slavery  is  not  a  mere  condition  of  apprenticeship ;  that 
the  service  which  a  slave  is  bound  to  render  to  his  master 
is  not  that  which  the  apprentice  is  bound  to  render  to  his 
employer;  that  while  the  relations  resemble  each  other 
in  certain  circumstances,  they  differ  in  the  following  of 
the  highest  moment,  namely,  that  the  relation  of  an  ap¬ 
prentice  is  designed  to  be  temporary ;  is  formed  for  the 
good  of  the  appi’entice  himself ;  contemplates  his  future 
usefulness  and  happiness,  and  provides  what  is  considered 
a  full  equivalent  for  the  labor  he  is  to  perform ;  implies 
moreover  no  claim  of  property  in  the  apprentice  ;  and  in¬ 
volves  no  riMit  to  transfer  him  to  another. 

O 

He  h  as  further  shown  that  slavery  is  not  to  be  con¬ 
founded  with  the  condition  of  a  minor. 

He  has  shown  also  that  there  are  important  differences 
between  the  American  slave,  and  the  serfs  of  Russia  and 
the  “  villains”  of  the  feudal  system  ;  above  all,  that  the 
kind  of  property  which  a  slaveholder  has  in  his  slave  is 
entirely  different  from  that  which  a  man  has  in  his  wife  or 
child :  that  the  relation  of  parent  and  child  is  a  natural 
relation  ;  that  of  master  and  slave  is  not :  that  the  relation 
of  husband  and  wife  is  voluntary  ;  that  of  master  and  slave 
is  not :  that  wives  and  children  are  treated  in  all  respects 
as  human  heings;  slaves,  according  to  the  system  authorized 
hy  law,  are  not :  that  in  the  relations  of  husband  and  wife 
there  is  no  right  of  property  in  any  such  sense  as  that  in 


370 


SCRIPTURE  VIEW  OF  SLAVERY. 


which  the  word  property  is  commonly  used  :  there  is,  for 
example,  no  right  of  sale  ;  no  right  to  sunder  the  relation 
for  the  mere  sake  of  gain,  at  least  as  these  relations  are 
generally  understood  in  Christian  lands. 

765.  It  is  a  matter  of  primary  importance  to  determine 
in  what  light  slavery  is  presented  in  the  sacred  writings  : 
and  here  Mr.  Barnes,  upon  a  critical  examination  of  them, 
seems  to  have  conclusively  shown  that  slavery  is  an  insti¬ 
tution  which  God  has  never  originated  by  positive  enact¬ 
ment  ;  that  his  legislation  has  tended  from  the  beginning 
to  mitigate  its  evils  ;  that  his  providential  dealings  have 
been  adverse  to  it;  that  he  has  asserted  great  principles 
in  his  word  which  cannot  be  carried  out  without  destroy¬ 
ing  the  system  ;  that  he  has  enjoined  on  man,  in  the  vari¬ 
ous  relations  of  life,  certain  duties,  of  which  slavery 
prevents  the  performance  ;  that  slavery  engenders  certain 
bad  passions,  which  are  wholly  contrary  to  religion ;  and 
that  it  is  the  tendency  and  the  design  of  the  Christian  reli¬ 
gion,  when  fairly  applied,  to  abolish  the  system. 

766.  Yet,  if  God  does  not  approve,  but  has  designed 
gradually  to  abolish  the  relation  of  master  and  slave,  how 
can  it  be  accounted  for  that  he  does  not  condemn  it  in  ex¬ 
press  terms,  as  he  condemns  idolatry  and  oppression  %  and 
that,  instead  of  this,  he  prescribes  the  duties  belonging  to 
the  so-called  criminal  relation  of  master  and  slave,  just  as 
he  prescribes  the  duties  of  parent  and  child  ]  To  these 
questions  Mr.  Barnes  offers  the  following  reply  : — 

“To  prescribe  the  duties  of  certain  persons  while  sus¬ 
taining  a  certain  relation  to  each  other,  cannot  be  con¬ 
strued  as  an  approbation  of  the  relation  itself.  It  might 
not  be  desirable  for  him  who  gave  directions  about  the 
right  mode  of  acting  in  a  certain  relation,  to  attempt  to 
disturb  it  at  that  time,  or  it  might  be  impossible  at  once 
to  remove  certain  evils  connected  with  it,  and  yet  there 
might  be  important  duties  which  religion  would  enjoin 
while  that  relation  continued.  Even  on  the  supposition 
that  the  apostles  regarded  the  system  as  a  great  evil,  and 
desired  the  immediate  abolition  of  slavery,  as  long  as  the 
relation  continued,  they  would  require  that  the  Christian 
spirit  be  exhibited.” 

The  apostles  enjoined  on  the  oppressed  certain  duties ; 
but  this  does  not  prove  that  the  relation  of  oppressor  is  a 
harmless  one  :  they  prescribed  the  duties  also  of  those 


SCRIPTURE  VIEW  OF  SLAVERY. 


371 


who  were  persecuted^,  but  this  must  not  be  construed  as  an 
approbation  of  the  relation  of  persecutor.  Nor  do  we 
meet  in  Scripture  with  any  express  condemnation  of  these 
relations  ;  yet  they  are  confessedly  relations  that  ought 
not  to  exist,  and  cannot  exist  without  crime.  The  Scrip¬ 
tures  condemn  the  things  done  by  those  holding  these  re¬ 
lations,  just  as  they  condemn  the  things  done  by  the  slave¬ 
holder,  as  such. 

767.  Moreover,  it  is  not  true  that  the  apostles  “legis¬ 

lated”  for  slavery  as  they  did  for  the  relation  of  husband 
and  wife,  and  parent  and  child ;  or  that  they  ever  repre¬ 
sented  those  relations  as  parallel,  or  as  equally  desirable 
and  acceptable  to  Grod.  (1.)  They  uniformly  represent 
servitude  as  a  hard  condition  ;  1  Cor.  vii.  21  ;  1  Pet.  ii. 
18-23  ;  Eph.  vi.  9  ;  Col.  iv.  1.  (2.)  They  enjoin  on  slaves 

submission  to  their  condition  as  a  hard  one,  and  one  in 
which  they  were  constantly  liable  to  suffer  wrong  ;  1  Pet. 
ii.  18,  19.  (3.)  The  principal  virtue  which  the  apostles 

enjoined  on  slaves  to  cultivate,  is  that  of  patience  under 
wrong.  There  is  no  other  relation  in  life  in  which  the 
leading  virtue  enjoined  to  be  cultivated,  is  patience  under 
the  infiixtion  of  wrong.  (4.)  They  represented  it  as  desi¬ 
rable  to  escape  from  seivitude  if  it  could  be  done ;  or  as 
more  desirable  to  be  free  than  to  be  in  that  condition  ; 
1  Cor.  vii.  21.  But  where  is  anything  like  this  said  re¬ 
specting  the  condition  of  a  wife  or  child  ] 

[Barnes  on  Slavery.] 

768.  It  is  said  that  if  the  apostles  were  opposed  to 
slavery  at  heart,  and  regarded  it  as  sinful,  their  course  of 
instruction  in  relation  to  it  was  inconsistent  with  moral  hon¬ 
esty.  But  Dr.  Wayland,  in  reply  to  this  insinuation,  justly 
observes,  that  “  the  course  which  the  Gospel  takes  on  this 
subject,  seems  to  have  been  the  only  one  that  could  have 
been  taken  in  order  to  effect  the  universal  abolition  of 
slavery.  The  Gospel  was  designed  not  for  one  race,  or 
for  one  time,  but  for  all  races,  and  for  all  times.  It  looked, 
not  at  the  abolition  of  this  form  of  evil  for  that  age  alone, 
but  for  its  universal  abolition.  Hence  the  important  ob¬ 
ject  of  its  author  was  to  gain  it  a  lodgment  in  every  part 
of  the  known  world;  so  that,  by  its  universal  diffusion 
among  all  classes  of  society,  it  might  quietly  and  peace¬ 
fully  modify  and  subdue  the  passions  of  men  ;  and  thus, 
without  violence,  work  a  revolution  in  the  whole  mass  of 


372 


SCRIPTURE  VIEW  OF  SLAVERY. 


mankind.  In  this  manner  alone  could  its  object,  a  uni¬ 
versal  moral  revolution,  have  been  accomplished.  For  if 
it  had  forbidden  the  evil,  instead  of  subverting  the  princi¬ 
ple  ;  if  it  had  proclaimed  the  unlawfulness  of  slavery,  and 
taught  slaves  to  resist  the  oppression  of  their  masters,  it 
would  instantly  have  arrayed  the  two  parties  in  deadly 
hostility  throughout  the  civilized  world  ;  its  announce¬ 
ment  would  have  been  the  signal  of  servile  war;  and  the 
very  name  of  the  Christian  religion  would  have  been  for¬ 
gotten  amid  the  agitations  of  universal  bloodshed.  The 
fact,  under  these  circumstances,  that  the  Gospel  does  not 
forbid  slavery,  affords  no  reason  to  suppose  that  it  does 
not  mean  to  prohibit  it ;  much  less  does  it  afford  ground 
for  belief  that  Jesus  Christ  intended  to  authorize  it. 

The  slave’s  duty  of  obedience  to  his  master,  it  ought  to 
be  remembered,  is  never  urged,  like  the  duty  of  obedi¬ 
ence  to  parents,  because  it  is  right,  but  because  the  culti¬ 
vation  of  meekness  and  forbearance  under  injury  wil]  be 
well  pleasing  to  God.  The  manner  in  which  the  duty  of 
slaves  is  inculcated,  therefore,  afibrds  no  ground  for  the 
assertion  that  the  Gospel  authorizes  one  man  to  hold  an¬ 
other  in  bondage,  any  more  than  the  command  to  honor 
the  king,  when  that  king  was  Nero,  authorized  the  tyr¬ 
anny  of  the  emperor ;  or  than  the  command  to  turn  the 
other  cheek,  when  one  is  smitten,  justifies  the  infliction 
of  violence  by  an  injurious  man.  Obedience  to  such 
commands  is  our  duty,  not  because  our  fellow-man  has  a 
right  to  claim  this  course  of  conduct  of  us,  nor  because  he 
has  a  right  to  inflict  injury  upon  us,  but  because  such  con 
duct  in  us  will  be  well  pleasing  to  God. 

[Moral  Science,  pp.  214,  215.] 

769.  (!•)  The  Scriptures  are  explicit  and  decisive  in 
condemning  slaveholding ;  not  by  that  name  indeed,  but 
they  condemn  the  thing  under  the  names  of  injustice,  op¬ 
pression,  unmercifulness,  theft,  robbery,  evil-doing,  &c. 
They  could  not  condemn  it  under  the  title  of  servitude,  for 
many  modifications  of  servitude  are  both  just  and  necessary. 

(2.)  The  laws  of  God  in  relation  to  this  subject,  are 
sufficiently  plain  and  intelligible  for  the  direction  of  all 
candid,  diligent,  and  earnest  inquirers.  The  divine  law, 
in  respect  to  slavery,  is  left  very  much  as  it  is  in  respect 
to  many  other  important  subjects,  so  as  to  require  critical 
and  continual  study  in  order  fully  to  understand  it.  For 


IS  ALL  SLAVEHOLDING  SINFUL  ?  373 

r 

want  of  this  candid  and  thorough  study,  or  through  the 
prejudice  of  education,  and  the  blinding  influence  of  self- 
love,  many  good  men  have  fallen  into  error  in  respect  to 
the  criminality  of  slavery  ;  as  good  men  have  fallen  into 
eiTor  on  other  subjects  that  are  taught  with  more  or  less 
clearness  in  the  sacred  scriptures. 

[Consult  Sawyer  on  Servitude.] 

770,  Benevolent  slaveholders  at  the  South  are  environed 
with  peculiar  difficulties  in  abolishing  slavery,  even  were 
they  disposed  to  do  it.  The  law  has  thrown  those  diffi¬ 
culties  in  their  way ;  so  great,  that  we  think  they  may  be 
justified  in  remaining, yhr  a  time,  slaveholders,  on  the  fol¬ 
lowing  conditions : — 

(1.)  They  must,  in  their  own  minds  at  least,  renounce 
the  system  as  anti-Christian  and  oppressive. 

(2.)  They  must  regard  and  treat  their  slaves  not  as 
things,  but  as  men  ;  according  to  the  principles  laid  down 
under  the  Fifth  Commandment. 

(3.)  They  must  exert  themselves,  in  all  judicious  ways, 
to  secure,  as  soon  as  practicable,  the  elevation  of  the  slave 
to  the  condition  of  a  freeman,  and  make  all  the  provision 
in  their  power  to  prevent  the  liability  of  their  slaves  to 
sale  for  debt,  and  to  secure  their  freedom  after  their  own 
decease.  They  must  labor  to  correct  the  state  of  public 
opinion  which  now  sustains  the  laws  of  slavery,  and  thus 
prepare  the  way  for  a  more  just,  enlightened,  and  Chris¬ 
tian  legislation,  under  which,  at  the  earliest  practicable 
period,  slavery  may  be  abolished. 

(4.)  They  may  nominally  hold  the  slave  as  property, 
but  simply  for  the  good  of  the  slave,  and  with  a  view  to 
public  order  and  safety. 

(5.)  They  must  discontinue  and  abhor  the  practice  of 
selling  slaves,  and  of  sundering  those  who  are  connected 
by  the  natural  relations  of  life. 

(6.)  In  short,  they  must  discontinue  the  practices  pecu¬ 
liar  to  the  system  of  slavery,  and  be  slaveholders  only  in 
name,  and  from  benevolent  motives — and  only  with  a  view 
to  a  temporary  continuance  of  the  relation. 

771.  It  seems  not  to  be  fair  or  right  to  denounce  every 
man  as  wicked,  unjust,  and  unchristian,  who  occupies  the 
relation  of  a  slaveholder;  for  we  cannot  doubt  that  there 
are  hundreds,  whose  sentiments  and  practice,  under  the 
system  of  slavery,  virtually  abolish  the  relation,  and  who 


374 


DUTY  OF  SLAVEHOLDERS. 


are  not,  therefore,  proper  objects  of  censure.  Allow¬ 
ances  also  should  be  made  in  the  case  of  some  others  for 
the  prejudices  of  education,  and  for  their  ignorance  of 
the  true  method  of  interpreting  the  voice  of  Scripture  in 
relation  to  slavery.  The  real  difficulties  also  which  are 
attendant  upon  immediate  and  general  emancipation  ought 
to  be  fairly  considered. 

But  no  apology  can  be  made  for  those  who  advocate 
slavery,  as  the  laws  define  it ;  who  regulate  their  practice 
by  their  legal  rights  as  holders  of  slaves ;  “  who  hold  their 
fellow-creatures  in  bondage  from  selfish,  base  motives ; 
who  hold  the  slave  for  gain,  whether  justly  or  unjustly 
they  neither  ask  nor  care ;  who  hold  him,  not  for  his  own 
good,  or  the  safety  of  the  state,  but  with  precisely  the 
same  views  with  which  they  hold  a  laboring  horse,  that 
is,  for  the  profit  which  they  can  wring  from  him ;  who 
will  not  hear  a  word  of  his  wrongs,  for,  wronged  or  not, 
they  will  not  let  him  go.” 

Duty  of  Masters  to  their  Slaves. 

772.  The  duty  of  masters,  in  a  state  of  society  where 
slavery  exists,  has  been  explained,  for  the  most  part,  in 
the  answer  to  the  question,  how  the  relation  of  slaveholder 
may  be  temporarily  sustained  without  an  infraction  of  the 
Eighth  Commandment.  [Art.  770.] 

It  has  been  supposed,  in  that  answer,  that  immediate 
abolition  is  not  generally  practicable,  in  consequence  of 
the  degraded  condition  of  the  slave  ;  and  yet  we  know  it 
is  the  duty  of  every  man  to  cease  doing  wrong,  without 
delay.  As  the  degraded  condition  of  the  slave  is  due  to 
the  slaveholder,  or  the  system  under  which  he  has  acted, 
the  slaveholder  is  under  obligation  immediately  to  set 
about  removing  the  impediments  to  immediate  and  uni¬ 
versal  abolition  in  the  community  to  which  he  belongs. 
These  impediments  consist  chiefly  in  the  degraded  condi¬ 
tion  of  the  slave,  and  so  far  as  ignorance  is  concerned,  the 
laws  are  an  impediment,  and  should  be  changed. 

The  slave  must  begin  to  be  treated  as  a  man,  instructed 
as  a  man,  rewarded  for  his  labor  as  a  man,  assisted  in 
mental  and  moral  improvement,  relieved  from  the  various 
wrongs  to  which  the  system  of  slavery  exposes  him,  and 
gradually  prepared  for  the  duties  and  privileges  of  a 
freeman. 


DUTY  OF  SLAVES  TO  THEIR  MASTERS. 


375 


In  this  course  of  the  preparation  of  a  slave  for  freedom 
(as  Dr.  Wayland  excellently  remarks),  “  it  may  be  the  duty 
of  the  master  to  hold  the  slave  ;  not,  however,  on  the 
ground  of  right  over  him,  but  of  obligation  to  him,  and  of 
obligation  to  him  for  the  jpurpose  of  accomplishing  a  par¬ 
ticular  and  specified  good.  And,  of  course,  he  who  holds 
him  for  any  other  purpose,  holds  him  wrongfully,  and  is 
guilty  of  the  sin  of  slavery.  In  the  mean  while,  he  is  in¬ 
nocent  in  just  so  far  as  he,  in  the  fear  of  God,  holds  the 
slave,  not  for  the  good  of  the  master,  but  for  the  good  of 
the  slave,  and  with  the  entire  and  honest  intention  of  ac¬ 
complishing  the  object  as  soon  as  he  can,  and  of  liberating 
the -slave  as  soon  as  the  object  is  accomplished.  He  thus 
admits  the  slave  to  equality  of  right.  He  does  unto 
another,  as  he  would  that  another  should  do  unto  him ; 
and  thus  acting,  though  he  may  in  form  hold  a  fellow- 
creature  in  bondage,  he  is  in  fact  innocent  of  the  crime 
of  violation  of  liberty.  This  opinion,  however,  proceeds 
upon  the  supposition  that  immediate  abolition  would  be 
the  greatest  possible  injury  to  the  slaves  themselves,  not 
being  competent  of  self-government.” 

Duty  of  Slaves  to  their  Masters. 

773.  In  the  words  again  of  Dr.  Wayland  :  “  They  are 
bound  to  obedience,  fidelity,  submission,  and  respect  to 
their  masters,  not  only  to  the  good  and  kind,  but  also  to 
the  unkind  and  froward  ;  not,  however,  on  the  ground  of 
duty  to  man,  but  on  the  ground  of  d%tty  to  God.  This 
obligation  extends  to  everything  but  matters  of  con¬ 
science.  When  a  master  commands  a  slave  to  do  wrong, 
the  slave  ought  not  to  obey.  The  Bible  does  not,  as  I 
suppose,  authorize  resistance  to  injury;  but  it  commands 
us  to  refuse  obedience  in  such  a  case,  and  suffer  the  con¬ 
sequences,  looking  to  God  alone,  to  whom  vengeance  be- 
longeth. 

“  Acting  upon  these  principles,  the  slave  may  attain  to 
the  highest  grade  of  virtue,  and  may  exhibit  a  sublimity 
and  purity  of  moral  character,  which,  in  the  condition  of 
the  master,  is  absolutely  unattainable. 

774.  “  By  instilling  the  right  disposition  into  the  bosoms 
of  the  master  and  the  slave,  it  teaches  the  one  the  duty 
of  reciprocity,  and  the  other  the  duty  of  submission  ;  and 
thus,  without  tumult,  without  disorder,  without  revenge, 


37G 


DUTIES  OF  THE  EIGHTH  PRECEPT. 


but  by  the  real  moral  improvement  of  both  parties,  re¬ 
stores  both  to  the  relation  toward  each  other  intended  by 
their  Creator.” 

VI.  Duties  implied  in  the  Eighth  Commandment. 

775.  (1.)  With  regard  to  those  who  have  violated  this 
commandment  in  any  form,  their  duty  is  to  abstain  from 
future  violations,  to  cease  to  do  this  evil,  and  to  leai’n  to 
do  well. 

But  this  is  not  all :  it  is  their  duty  to  make  restitution, 
as  far  as  they  have  ability  and  opportunity,  of  what  they 
have  at  any  time  unjustly  taken  or  detained ;  for,  that 
being,  in  right,  not  our  own,  but  another’s,  the  keeping 
of  it  is  continuing  and  carrying  on  injustice.  To  think 
of  raising  wealth  by  fraud,  and  then  growing  honest,  is 
the  silliest  scheme  in  the  world ;  for,  till  we  have  return¬ 
ed,  or  offered  to  return,  as  far  as  we  can,  all  that  we  have 
gotten  by  our  fraud,  we  are  not  honest. 

It  is,  further,  their  duty  to  guard  against  temptation  to  a 
repetition  of  the  crime,  and  against  all  the  causes  which 
might  lead  to  it ;  and  hence — 

(2.)  The  commandment  implies  the  duty  of  industry, 
without  which  the  generality  of  persons  cannot  maintain 
themselves  honestly.  Accordingly,  Paul  enjoins,  “  Let 
him  that  stole  steal  no  more ;  but  rather  let  him  labor, 
working  with  his  hands  the  thing  which  is  good.”  If  a 
man  has  not  resources  of  his  own,  he  must  endeavor  to 
provide  them  by  lawful  industry,  and  thus  cut  off  one 
strong  temptation  to  theft. 

The  calling  in  which  we  engage  must  be  a  lawful  one, 
because  the  gain  which  is  acquired  by  an  illicit  occupa¬ 
tion  is  the  fruit  of  a  violation  either  of  this  or  some  other 
commandment.  It  must  be  carried  on  by  lawful  means, 
by  fair  and  honest  industry,  to  the  exclusion  of  falsehood 
and  fraud,  and  all  encroachments  upon  the  rights  and 
privileges  of  others.  It  should  be  managed  with  atten¬ 
tion,  and  prudence,  and  perseverance,  because  it  is  only 
by  the  use  of  these  means  that  we  can  reasonably  calcu¬ 
late  upon  success ;  but  moderation  should  be  observed, 
not  only  lest  our  strength  be  impaired,  and  life  abridged, 
but  that  we  may  not  contract  an  undue  attachment  to 
wealth,  and,  by  fostering  the  principle  of  avarice,  create 
a  new  temptation  to  dishonesty. 


DUTIES  OF  THE  EIGHTH  PRECEPT. 


377 


(3.)  Frugality  must  be  joined  with  diligent  industry, 
for  unwise  expensiveness  will  dissipate  whatever  the 
utmost  diligence  can  acquire;  but  if  idleness  be  added  to 
extravagance,  a  speedier  ruin  is  induced ;  if,  further,  in¬ 
temperance  and  debauchery  go  along  with  them,  the  case 
is  an  extreme  one.  Every  one,  therefore,  who  desires  to 
approve  himself  honest  should  be  careful  to  live  within 
the  hounds  of  his  income,  so  as  to  have  something  in  readi¬ 
ness  against  unforeseen  losses  or  disappointments ;  but 
they  who  have,  or  expect  to  have  families,  should  en¬ 
deavor  to  live  much  more  within  those  bounds;  and 
whoever  spends  npon  himself,  or  throws  away  upon  any 
other  person  or  thing  more  than  he  can  prudently  afford 
(whatever  false  names  of  praise,  as  elegance,  generosity, 
good-nature,  may  be  given  to  this  indisci'etion),  will  be 
led,  before  he  is  aware,  to  distress  himself,  perhaps  many 
moi’e,  and  be,  too,  probably  driven  at  last  to  repair,  as 
well  as  he  can,  by  wickedness,  the  inroads  upon  his  prop¬ 
erty  which  he  has  made  by  folly. 

(4.)  This  precept  requires  that  we  do  not  omit  to  relieve 
the  poor  according  to  our  ability,  for  this  is  a  kind  of  rob¬ 
bery,  Whatever  we  enjoy  of  worldly  abundance  is  given 
us  in  trust,  that  we  should  take  our  own  share  with  mod¬ 
eration,  and  distribute  the  remainder  with  liberality. 
Whoever  either  penuriously  or  thoughtlessly  neglects 
his  proper  share  of  beneficence  to  the  poor,  is  unjust  to 
his  Maker,  and  to  his  fellow-creatures  ;  for  His  command 
is,  “  Withhold  not  good  from  them  to  whom  it  is  due, 
when  it  is  in  the  power  of  thine  hand  to  do  it.” 

[Seeker.] 

VII.  Benefits  to  Society  from  the  universal  Observance  of  the 
Eighth  Commandment. 

776.  Were  this  law  universally  observed,  a  new  scene 
would  burst  upon  the  world,  altogether  different  from 
what  has  been  displayed  in  the  transactions  of  mankind. 
The  iron  rod  of  oppression  would  be  broken,  the  horrid 
scenes  of  slavery  would  disappear,  and  destroying  armies 
would  no  longer  ravage  the  habitations  of  men.  The 
crowds  of  sharpers,  cheats,  and  jockeys,  that  now  stalk 
through  the  world,  with  unblushing  fronts,  to  entrap 
the  unwary,  would  forever  disappear  from  the  world. 
Impartial  justice  would  reign  triumphant  over  every 


378  BENEFITS  OF  OBSERVING  THE  EIGHTH  PRECEPT. 


department  of  society ;  and  all  tlie  harassing  lawsuits  and 
prosecutions  which  now  distress  so  many  thousands  of 
families  would  be  swept  away.  Locks,  and  bars,  and 
bolts  would  no  longer  be  required  for  securing  our  sub¬ 
stance  from  the  pilferer  and  the  robber  ;  the  iron  gratings 
of  a  bridewell  or  a  jail  would  never  again  remind  us  of 
the  dishonesty  and  depravity  of  man.  Every  one’s  mind 
would  be  at  perfect  ease  in  regard  to  his  property, 
whether  he  were  at  home  or  abi'oad,  being  firmly  per¬ 
suaded  that  every  trust  would  be  faithfully  discharged, 
and  every  commercial  concern  honorably  and  fairly  trans¬ 
acted.  What  a  host  of  cares,  anxieties,  suspicions,  vexa¬ 
tions,  and  perplexities  would  thus  be  chased  away,  and 
what  a  world  of  delightful  associations  would  thus  be 
created  ! 

[Professor  Dick’s  Lectures ;  Seeker’s  Lectures ;  Dick’s  Philosophy  of 
Religion.] 

735.  What  is  the  general  scope  and  design  of  this  commandment  ? 

736.  How  is  property  acquired  ? 

737.  What  is  implied  in  the  act  of  stealing? 

738.  Explain  domestic  theft  ? 

739.  Also  common  theft? 

740.  Explain  sacrilege  ? 

741.  Also  peculation? 

742.  Explain  thefts  of  stewardship,  or  agency? 

743.  What  are  the  cases  cited  ? 

744.  Explain  theft  of  concealment  ? 

745.  What  theft  is  practiced  in  trade  ? 

746.  Thefts  of  borrowing  ? 

747.  Thefts  of  usury? 

748.  Thefts  relating  to  contracts  ? 

749.  Thefts  of  mischief? 

750.  Thefts  of  litigation  ? 

751.  Theft  of  withholding  ? 

752.  Theft  of  participation  ? 

753.  Thefts  of  forging  and  counterfeiting  ? 

754.  Theft  of  gambling  ? 

755.  Theft  of  persons  and  personal  rights  ? 

756.  Does  slavery,  in  its  essential  character,  possess  such  attributes  as 
entitle  it  to  be  regarded  and  stigmatized  as  a  violation  of  the  Eighth 
Comthandment  ? 

757.  Reference  to  Southern  laws? 

758.  Testimony  of  Dr.  Breckenridge? 

759.  Of  what  other  things  tthe  inalienable  property  of  man,  as  man) 
does  the  institution  of  slavery,  ny'  its  laws,  virtually  or  explicitly  defraud 
men,  and  thus  violate  the  principle  of  the  Eighth  Commandment? 

760.  What  prominent  defense  has  been  set  up  for  thus  regarding  and 
treating  African  slaves  ? 

761.  How  may  this  defense  of  slavery  be  overthrown? 

762.  Does  slavery,  as  a  legalized  system,  corhe  in  conflict  with  any 
other  expression  of  the  will  and  law  of  God,  of  a  similar  character  ? 

763.  Does  any  moral  wrong  attach  to  those  who  hold  slaves  by  inherit¬ 
ance  and  not  by  purchase  ? 


NINTH  COMMANDMENT. 


379 


764.  By  \Vhat  method  is  it  attempted  to  palliate  or  deny  the  wrong  we 
have  shown  to  be  involved  in  the  idea  or  practice  of  holding  men  as  prop¬ 
erty  ? 

765.  What  is  the  true  character  of  the  Scripture  argument  on  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  slavery '! 

766.  If  God  does  not  approve,  but  has  designed  gradually  to  abolish  the 
relation  of  master  and  slave,  how  can  it  be  accounted  for  that  he  does  not 
condemn  it  in  express  terms,  as  he  condemns  idolatry  and  oppression  :  and 
that,  instead  of  this,  he  prescribes  the  duties  belonging  to  the  so-called 
criminal  relation  of  master  and  slave,  just  as  he  prescribes  the  duties  of 
parent  and  child  ? 

767.  In  what  terms  do  the  sacred  writers  speak  of  the  condition  of 
slaves,  and  what  particular  class  of  duties  do  they  most  insist  on,  showing 
the  calamity  of  such  a  condition  ? 

768.  It  is  said  that  if  the  apostles  were  opposed  to  slavery  at  heart,  and 
regarded  it  as  sinful,  their  course  was^inconsistent  with  moral  honesty : 
what  disposition  can  fairly  be  made  of  this  allegation? 

769.  What  further  answer  may  be  given  to  the  question;  “If  slave¬ 
holding  is  wrong,  why  was  it  not  condemned  in  express  terms,  in  the 
Scriptures  ?” 

770.  Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said  in  proof  of  the  sinfulness  of 
slavery,  of  its  opposition  to  the  spirit  and  precepts  of  the  Gospel,  are  there 
no  circumstances  in  which  the  relation  of  a  slaveholder  may  continue  for 
a  time  without  the  guilt  of  violating  the  Eighth  Commandment  ? 

771.  Is  it  candid,  or  right,  to  denounce  all  slaveholding  as  sinful,  anti- 
Christian,  and  justly  liable  to  ecclesiastical  censure? 

772.  What  is  the  duty  of  masters  in  a  state  of  society  where  slavery 
exists  ? 

773.  What  is  the  duty  of  slaves  to  their  masters  ? 

774.  How  has  Dr.  Wayland  shown  the  adaptation  of  the  Christian  re¬ 
ligion  to  abolish  slavery,  with  safety  and  benefit  to  master  and  slave  ? 

775.  What  duties  are  implied  in  this  commandment? 

776.  What  benefits  would  society  derive  from  a  universal  observance  of 
this  commandment? 


NINTH  COMMANDMENT. 

“  TAou  shall  not  bear  false  witness  against  thy  neighbor." 

I.  Nature  and  Extent  of  the  Prohibition. 

(a.)  False  Testimony  and  Conduct  in  Courts  of  Justice. 

777.  (1.)  T  HE  crime  here  expressly  forbidden  is,  the  giv¬ 
ing  of  false  testimony  concerning  a  person  when  tve  are  sum- 
moned  as  witnesses  in  his  cause,  hy  p>roper  authority.  This 
is  done  when  we  affirm  that  to  be  true  which  we  know 
to  be  false ;  when  we  declare  as  certain  what  is  doubt¬ 
ful  ;  when  we  intentionally  give  a  higher  coloring  or  a 
deeper  shade  to  a  transaction  than  is  consistent  with  fact ; 
when  we  deliberately  conceal  anything  which  would  serve 
to  establish  the  innocence  or  the  guilt  of  our  neighbor 
(for  hiding  the  truth  may  as  totally  mislead  those  who  are 
to  judge  as  telling  an  untruth) — indeed,  if,  by  any  means 
whatever,  we  disguise  the  real  state  of  the  case,  we  evi- 


380 


FALSE  TESTIMONY  AND  CONDUCT. 


dently  transgress  the  intent  of  this  commandment.  God 
hath  declared,  “  A  false  witness  shall  not  be  unpunished, 
and  he  that  speaketh  lies  shall  not  escape.” 

The  Ninth  Commandment  speaks  only  of  giving  false 
witness  against  our  neighbor ;  but  in  effect  it  binds  us 
equally  not  to  bear  false  witness  for  him  :  because,  in  all 
trials  of  property,  bearing  witness  for  one  party  is  bear¬ 
ing  witness  against  the  other ;  and,  in  all  trials  for  crimes, 
false  evidence  to  the  advantage  of  the  person  accused  is 
to  the  disadvantage  and  ruin  of  right  and  truth,  of  public 
safety  and  peace ;  by  concealing  and  encouraging  what 
ought  to  be  detected  and  punished.  The  term  neighbor 
we  have  shown  to  be  synonymous  with  fellow-man. 

In  these  and  other  ways  witnesses  may  swerve  from 
the  truth;  and  as  their  evidence,  in  a  judicial  trial,  is 
given  upon  oath,  they  further  incur  the  guilt  of  perjury  : 
“  These  are  the  things  that  ye  shall  do,  speak  ye  every 
man  the  truth  to  his  neighbor.” 

778.  (2.)  It  being  thus  criminal  to  bear  false  witness,  it 
must  be  criminal  also  to  draw  persons  into  the  commission  of 
so  great  a  sin,  by  gifts,  or  promises,  or  threatenings,  or  any 
other  method.  And,  in  its  degree,  it  must  be  criminal  to 
bring  a  false  accusation  or  false  action  against  any  one  ; 
or  to  make  any  sort  of  demand  for  which  there  is  not  rea¬ 
sonable  ground. 

779.  (3.)  However  favorably  persons  are  apt  to  think 
of  the  defendant’s  side,  yet  to  defend  ourselves  against 
justice,  or  even  to  deny  it  by  unfair  methods,  is  criminal; 
for  justice  ought  to  take  place,  and  the  sooner  the  better. 
Still,  both  the  professors  of  the  law  and  others  may  un¬ 
questionably  say  and  do  for  a  doubtful  or  a  bad  cause 
whatever  can  be  said  with  truth,  or  done  with  equity  ;  for 
otherwise  it  might  be  thought  still  worse  than  it  is,  and 
treated  worse  than  it  deserves. 

780.  (4.)  The  commandment  is  violated  if  judges  or 
jurymen  are  influenced  in  giving  their  sentence  or  verdict, 
by  interest,  relation,  friendship,  hatred,  compassion,  party, 
by  anything  but  the  nature  of  the  case  as  it  fairly  ap¬ 
pears  to  them.  For,  the  designedly  making  a  false  de¬ 
termination,  is  completing  all  the  mischief  which  bearing 
false  witness  only  attempts ;  and,  in  a  word,  whoever,  in 
any  way,  promotes  what  is  wrong,  or  obstructs  what  is 
right,  partakes  in  the  same  sin,  be  it  either  of  the  par- 


SLANDER. 


381 


ties,  their  witnesses,  or  agents  ;  be  it  the  highest,  or  the 
lowest  officer. 


(b.)  Slander. 

781.  (1.)  Persons  may  break  this  commandment,  not 
only  in  judicial  proceedings,  but  in  common  discourse  ;  by 
raising,  spreading,  or  countenancing  false  reports  against 
others,  or  such  as  they  have  no  sufficient  cause  to  think 
true ;  by  speaking,  without  foundation,  to  the  disadvan¬ 
tage  of  their  persons,  understandings,  accomplishments, 
temper,  or  conduct — whether  charging  them  with  faults 
and  imperfections  which  do  not  belong  to  them,  or  taking 
from  them  good  qualities  and  recommendations  which  do ; 
deciding  upon  their  characters  from  a  single  bad  action 
or  two  ;  fixing  ill  names  on  things  which  are  really  vir¬ 
tuous  or  innocent  in  them  ;  imputing  their  laudable  be¬ 
havior  to  blamable  or  worthless  motives ;  making  no 
allowance  for  the  weakness  of  human  nature,  strength  of 
temptation,  want  of  instruction,  vicious  examples. 

In  all  these  ways  persons  may  be  injured,  either  by  open, 
public  assertions,  or  more  dangerously,  perhaps,  by  secret 
whispers,  which  they  have  no  opportunity  of  contradicting. 

The  scandal  may  he  accompanied  with  strong  expres¬ 
sions  of  hope  that  it  is  not  true,  or  of  great  sorrow  for  it, 
and  warm  declarations  of  good-will  to  the  party  whom  it 
concerns — all  which  may  serve  only  to  give  it  a  more  un¬ 
suspected  credit.  Nay,  it  may  be  conveyed  very  effect¬ 
ually  in  dark  hints,  expressive  gestures,  or  even  affected 
silence ;  and  these,  as  they  may  be  equally  mischievous, 
are  not  less  wicked  for  being  more  cowardly,  and  more 
artful  methods  of  defamation. 

782.  (2.)  Further  yet:  speaking  or  intimating  things  to 
any  person's  disadvantage,  though  they  he  true,  is  seldom 
innocent ;  for  it  usually  proceeds  from  bad  principles — re¬ 
venge,  envy,  malice,  pride,  censoriousness ;  unfair  zeal 
from  some  private  or  party  interest ;  or,  at  best,  from  a 
desire  to  appear  to  know  more  than  others,  or  mere  im¬ 
pertinent  fondness  for  talking.  Sometimes,  indeed,  bad 
characters  and  bad  actions  ought  to  be  known  ;  but  much 
oftener  not,  or  not  to  all  the  world,  or  not  by  our  means ; 
and  we  have  need  to  be  very  careful  from  what  induce¬ 
ments  we  act  in  such  a  case. 

783.  (3.)  We  may  transgress  this  precept  when  we  do 


382 


IMPORTANCE  OF  VERACITY. 


not  speak  at  all ;  for,  by  remaining  silent  when  something 
injurious  is  said  of  another,  we  tacitly  give  our  assent, 
and,  by  concealing  what  we  know  to  the  contrary,  by  not 
bringing  forward  what  would  rebut  the  charge,  we  be¬ 
come  guilty  not  in  a  much  inferior  degree  to  the  first  con¬ 
triver  of  the  calumny, 

784.  (4.)  We  are  under  obligation  to  be  cautious  not 
only  what  harm,  hut  lohat  good  we  say  of  others  ;  for  the 
speaking  too  highly  of  their  characters  or  circumstances, 
or  praising  them  in  any  respect  beyond  truth,  is  bearing 
false  witness  about  them,  which  may  sometimes  turn 
against  them,  and  may  often  misleafl^those  to  whom  we 
speak  too  favorably  of  them,  and  produce  bad  conse¬ 
quences  of  many  kinds. 

II.  Design  and  Importance  of  the  Ninth  Commandment. 

785.  The  design  of  this  precept  is,  to  promote  universal 

truthfulness  between  man  and  man.  Our  organs  of  speech 
were  given  for  the  purpose  of  speaking  truth.  Herodo¬ 
tus  tells  us,  in  the  first  Book  of  his  history,  that  from  the 
age  of  five  years  to  that  of  twenty,  the  ancient  Pex'sians 
instructed  their  children  only  in  three  things  :  viz.,  to 
manage  a  horse,  to  shoot  dextrously  with  the  bow,  and 
to  speak  the  truth  ;  which  shows  of  how  much  importance 
they  thought  it  to  fix  this  virtuous  habit  early  on  the  minds 
of  youth.  [Buck’s  Works,] 

786.  That  veracity  is  of  immense  importance  to  intelli¬ 
gent  beings,  is  obvious  ;  because — 

(!•)  It  is  the  bond  of  society,  and  the  foundation  of  all 
that  confidence  and  intercourse  which  subsist  among  rational 
beings.  By  far  the  greater  part  of  the  knowledge  we 
possess  has  been  derived  from  the  testimony  of  others. 

On  the  supposition  of  the  veracity  of  others,  all  the 
transactions  of  domestic,  literary,  and  commercial  life, 
and  all  the  arrangements  and  operations  of  government 
are  conducted. 

(2.)  Frequent  or  habitual  lying  would  put  an  end  to  all 
the  pleasure,  all  the  benefit,  all  the  safety  of  conversation. 
Nobody  would  know  on  what,  or  on  whom  to  depend  : 
for  if  one  person  may  lie,  why  not  another  I  and  at  this 
rate,  no  justice  can  be  done,  no  wickedness  be  prevented 
or  punished,  no  business  go  forward. 

All  these  mischiefs  will  equally  follow  whether  untruths 


IMPORTANCE  OF  VERACITY. 


383 


be  told  in  a  gross,  barefaced  manner,  or  disguised  under 
equivocations,  quibbles,  and  evasions.  The  sin  therefore 
is  as  great  in  the  one  case  as  in  the  other. 

(3.)  Truth  is  the  foundation  of  our  present  religious 
comfort,  and  of  our  future  prospects  in  another  world. 

Our  hopes  of  happiness  beyond  the  grave  depend  upon 
the  testimony  of  the  inspired  writers,  and  the  credence 
we  yield  to  their  communications.  And  therefore  the 
man  who  endeavors  to  undermine  the  authority  of  the 
sacred  records,  or  to  distort  or  misrepresent  their  mean¬ 
ing  by  sophistical  reasonings,  ought  to  be  viewed  as  an 
enemy  to  his  species,  since  he  would  deprive  them  of 
their  most  substantial  enjoyments,  and  of  their  most  cheer¬ 
ing  prospects. 

(4.)  In  few  words,  without  truth,  there  could  be  no  se¬ 
curity  among  men,  no  fi’iendship,  no  mutual  cooperation, 
no  transactions  of  any  kind  :  they  would  be  filled  with 
jealousy  and  distrust,  and  be  I’educed  to  a  helpless  indi¬ 
viduality  of  existence,  destitute  of  all  comfort,  and  ha¬ 
rassed  with  perpetual  suspicion  and  alarm. 

No  disposition,  no  duty  can  be  of  gi'eater  importance 
than  truth,  to  man  in  the  various  stages  of  his  existence, 
as  a  sentient,  intellectual,  moral,  and  religious  being  ;  and 
no  crime  can  be  greater  in  magnitude,  or  more  ruinous 
in  its  consequences,  than  its  violation.  Illustrations  of 
these  several  points  are  furnished  in  Dick’s  Philosophy 
of  Religion. 

787.  To  guard  human  society  against  the  disastrous 
effects  of  a  want  of  veracity,  the  Creator  has  planted 
deeply  in  human  nature  two  important  principles — an  in¬ 
stinctive  propensity  to  speak  truth,  and  an  instinctive 
propensity  to  believe  testimony. 

The  former  alleged  trait  of  human  nature  may  seem  to 
be  denied  in  the  declaration  of  Scripture,  “  The  wicked 
are  estranged  from  the  womb,  they  go  astray  as  soon  as 
they  be  born,  speaking  lies.”  These  words  do  indeed 
import  that  there  is  a  proneness  to  duplicity  and  deceit 
in  human  nature,  of  which  there  are  indications  at  a  very 
early  period;  but  it  is  called  into  action  only  under  par¬ 
ticular  circumstances,  and,  in  general,  clrildren  are  pro¬ 
verbial  for  speaking  the  truth.  It  comes  spontaneously 
from  our  lips  when  no  motive  to  utter  falsehood  is  pre¬ 
sented  ;  and  so  strong  is  the  natural  connection  between 


384 


FALSEHOOD, - LIES  OF  MALIGNITY. 


our  sentiments  and  our  words,  that  it  frequently  escapes 
from  us  when  it  would  be  our  interest  to  conceal  it.  Men 
usually  speak  truth,  and  lie  only  occasionally. 

The  disposition  to  give  credit  to  testimony  presupposes 
the  former  propensity ;  it  assumes  that  truth  is  generally 
spoken ;  it  is  strongest  prior  to  experience  of  deceit,  and 
becomes  suspicious  and  cautious  in  proportion  as  that  ex¬ 
perience  is  acquired. 

But  although  there  is  a  natural  propensity  to  speak 
truth,  when  it  is  not  counteracted  by  any  improper  influ¬ 
ence,  yet  men,  being  in  a  degenerate  state,  do  not  feel  so 
sacred  a  regard  to  it  as  is  sufficient  to  secure  them  against 
temptation.  There  are  frequent  violations  of  it  from  va¬ 
rious  causes,  against  which  this  precept  is  directed. 

788.  Truth  may  be  considered  under  two  aspects  :  logi¬ 
cal  truth,  which  consists  in  the  conformity  of  a  proposi¬ 
tion  or  assertion  to  the  nature  and  state  of  things  ;  and 
moral  truth,  which  consists  in  the  agreement  of  our  words 
and  actions  with  our  thoughts.  Logical  truth  belongs  to 
the  thing  or  fact  asserted  ;  moral  truth,  or  what  is  termed 
veracity,  has  a  reference  to  the  'person  who  utters  it.  The 
Ninth  Commandment  immediately  regards  the  latter,  but 
not  to  the  exclusion  of  the  former.  If  it  is  our  duty  not 
to  deceive  others,  it  is  our  duty  to  take  care  that  we  he  not 
ourselves  deceived;  and  consequently  to  make  ourselves 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  a  subject  before  we  venture 
to  speak  of  it.  But  when  a  man  speaks  as  he  thinks,  he 
speaks  moral  truth,  and  although  he  should  be  mistaken, 
he  is  not  guilty  of  a  lie. 

Truth  also  denotes  fidelity  in  the  fulfillment  of  promises 
and  contracts. 

III.  Falsehood. 

789.  A  lie  is  the  utterance  of  what  is  not  true,  when  the 
speaker  professes  to  utter  truth,  or  when  he  knows  it  is 
expected  by  the  hearer ;  it  is  something  said  with  an  in¬ 
tention  to  deceive. 

(1.)  Lies  of  Malignity. 

790.  Mrs.  Opie,  whose  work  on  lying  is  eminently 
worthy  of  perusal,  and  from  which  we  shall  freely  quote, 
makes  two  classes  of  lies  of  this  sort — those  of  first-rate, 
and  those  of  second-rate  malignity.  Under  the  head  of 
slander  we  have  considered  the  first  class.  Under  the 


JOCOSE  AND  BENEVOLENT  LIES. 


385 


second  class  are  ranked,  the  tempting  persons,  by  dint 
of  flattery,  to  do  what  they  are  incaj^able  of  doing  well, 
from  the  mean,  malicious  wish  of  leading  them  to  expose 
themselves,  in  order  that  their  tempter  may  enjoy  a 
hearty  laugh  at  their  expense :  the  complimenting  either 
men  or  women  on  qualities  which  they  do  not  possess,  in 
hope  of  imposing  on  their  credulity  :  praising  a  lady’s 
dress  or  work  to  her  face ;  and  then,  as  soon  as  she  is  no 
longer  present,  not  only  abusing  both  her  work  and  her 
dress,  but  laughing  at  her  weakness,  in  believing  the 
praise  sincere. 

(2.)  Jocose  Lies — 

791.  Lies  told  for  the  purpose  of  amusement  and  mer¬ 
riment.  However  common  these  are,  and  however  lightly 
they  are  thought  of,  a  strict  moralist  will  condemn  them 
also,  because  truth  is  too  sacred  to  be  trifled  with. 

(3.)  Benevolent  Lies — 

792,  Those  which  are  intended  to  promote  the  benefit 
of  others. 

It  has  been  pleaded,  as  an  apology  for  these,  that  they 
do  no  harm,  but,  on  the  contrary,  do  good  :  a  conscience 
duly  informed,  however,  does  not  judge  of  the  morality 
of  an  action  by  its  consequences,  but  by  the  law ;  and, 
“  to  do  evil  that  good  may  come,”  is  a  principle  which 
the  Scripture  has  proscribed. 

Persons  frequently  employ  falsehoods  to  a  sick  man. 
who  cannot  recover,  lest  truth  should  discompose  his 
mind.  This  is  called  kindness,  although  an  earnest 
preparation  for  death  may  be  at  stake  upon  their  speak¬ 
ing  the  truth.  There  is  a  peculiar  inconsistency  some¬ 
times  exhibited  on  such  occasions  :  the  persons  who  will 
not  discompose  a  sick  man  for  the  sake  of  his  interests  in 
futurity,  will  discompose  him  without  scruple  if  he  has 
not  made  his  will.  Is  a  bequest  of  more  consequence  to  a 
survivor,  than  a  hope  full  of  immortality  to  the  dying  man  % 

It  is  said  that  we  may  tell  a  falsehood  to  a  madman  for 
his  own  advantage,  and  this  because  it  is  beneficial. 
Those  who  have  had  great  experience  in  the  treatment  of 
the  insane,  decide  that  it  is  not  beneficial  to  employ  false¬ 
hood  in  the  management  of  them;  and  on  this  ground,  if  no 
other,  falsehoods,  in  such  cases,  are  not  to  be  justified. 

Lies  of  benevolence  are  often  told  in  favor  of  un- 

R 


.*380  “  PIOUS  FRAUDS.” - LIES  OF  VANITY. 

worthy  servants,  to  aid  them  in  securing  a  place ;  or, 
what  is  more  common,  when  an  opinion  is  asked  con¬ 
cerning  them,  an  essential  part  of  the  truth  is  withheld, 
with  the  intention  to  deceive,  that  is,  to  give  a  fairer  im¬ 
pression  of  the  servant  than  a  full  disclosure  of  truth 
would  warrant.  This  species  of  deception  is  a  lie  of 
benevolence  to  the  seiYant,  but  of  malevolence  to  those 
who,  by  means  of  it,  may  be  led  to  employ  such  servants. 

(4.)  Pious  LieSy  or  Frauds. 

793.  Pious  lies,  or  frauds  (if  such  an  epithet  be  at  all 
allowable),  are,  those  lies  or  frauds  which  are  professedly 
designed  to  promote  the  cause  of  religion. 

These  began  to  be  practiced  at  an  early  period  in  the 
Christian  Church;  and  consist  not  only  of  lies  told,  but 
of  miracles  feigned,  books  forged,  and  sophistical  reason¬ 
ing  deliberately  employed,  to  advance  the  cause  of  re¬ 
ligion.  This  is  that  doing  of  evil  to  produce  good  which 
Paul  condemns  in  his  letter  to  the  Romans.  No  man,  on 
any  pretext,  has  a  right  to  depart  from  moral  rules,  from 
the  eternal  laws  of  right  and  wrong.  The  very  wish  to 
do  good  by  means  of  evil,  seems  to  originate  in  a  bad 
state  of  heart :  and  were  the  good  produced  ever  so  ex¬ 
tensive,  it  would  not  palliate  the  sin  of  direct  disobedience 
to  God.  Is  it  for  creatures,  short-sighted  and  dependen 
as  we  are,  to  venture  on  the  violation  of  His  laws,  fron 
the  presumptuous  hope  of  producing  greater  good  bj 
their  violation  than  by  their  observance  ? 

If  pious  lies  (so  called)  are  incapable  of  defense,  most 
assuredly  no  other  sort  of  lie  admits  of  justification. 

(5.)  Lies  of  Equivocation. 

794.  This  species  of  falsehood  consists  in  the  studied 
use  of  terms  which  bear  two  different  senses,  in  one  of 
which  the  speaker  understands  them,  while  he  means 
them  to  be  understood  in  the  other  by  the  person  ad¬ 
dressed. 

(6.)  Lies  of  Vanity. 

795.  Examples  of  these  are  the  following  : — 

Suppose  that,  in  order  to  give  myself  consequence,  I 

were  to  assert  that  I  was  actually  acquainted  with  cer¬ 
tain  great  and  distinguished  personages,  whom  I  had 
merely  met  in  fashionable  society. 


LIES  OF  FLATTERY  AND  OF  FEAR. 


387 


If  I  assert  that  my  motive  for  a  particular  action  was 
virtuous,  when  I  know  that  it  was  worldly  and  selfish,  I 
am  guilty  of  a  direct  lie.  But  I  am  equally  guilty  of 
falsehood,  if,  while  I  hear  my  actions  or  forbearances 
praised,  and  decidedly  imputed  to  worthy  motives,  when 
I  am  conscious  that  they  sprung  from  unworthy  or  unim¬ 
portant  ones,  I  listen  with  silent  complacency,  and  do  not 
positively  disclaim  my  right  to  commendation :  in  the 
latter  case  I  lie  indirectly.  The  intention  or  willingness 
to  deceive  is  here  apparent,  and  in  this  is  involved  lying. 

A  very  common  lie  of  vanity  is  the  violation  of  truth 
which  persons  indulge  relative  to  their  age,  especially  if 
they  are  advanced  in  life,  and  are  unmarried. 

(7.)  Lies  of  Flattery. 

796.  Coarse  and  indiscriminate  flatterers  lay  it  down 
as  a  rule,  that  they  are  to  flatter  all  persons  on  the  qual¬ 
ities  which  they  have  not.  Hence  they  flatter  the  plain 
on  their  beauty ;  the  weak,  on  their  intellect ;  the  dull,  on 
their  wit ;  believing,  in  the  sarcastic  narrowness  of  their 
conceptions,  that  no  one  possesses  any  self-knowledge. 

(8.)  Lies  of  Fear — 

797.  Those  which  proceed  from  a  selfish  dread  of 
losing  favor  by  speaking  the  truth  :  for  instance,  a  child 
or  a  servant  breaks  a  toy  or  a  glass,  and  denies  having 
done  so ;  excuses  made  by  negligent  correspondents  for 
not  writing  sooner,  are,  usually,  lies  of  fear — fear  of  hav¬ 
ing  forfeited  favor  by  too  long  a  silence. 

This  kind  of  lie  often  proceeds  from  a  want  of  reso¬ 
lution  to  say  “  no,”  when  asked  such  questions  as,  “  Is 
not  my  new  gown  pretty  I”  “  Is  not  my  new  hat  be¬ 
coming  “  is  not  my  daughter  agreeable  V’ 

(9.)  Lies  falsely  called  Lies  of  Benevolence. 

798.  These  are  likewise  occasioned  by  a  selfish  dread 
of  losing  favor,  and  provoking  displeasure,  by  speaking 
the  truth.  Persons  calling  themselves  benevolent,  with¬ 
hold  disagreeable  truths,  and  utter  agreeable  falsehoods, 
from  a  wish  to  give  pleasure,  or  to  avoid  giving  pain.  If 
you  say  that  you  are  looking  ill,  they  tell  you  that  you 
are  looking  well.  If  you  express  a  fear  that  you  are 
growing  corpulent,  they  say  you  are  only  just  so  fat  as 


388  LIES  OF  CONVENIENCE. - PRACTICAL  LIES. 

you  ought  to  be.  And  they  say  this,  not  from  the  desire 
of  flattering  you,  or  from  the  malignant  one  of  wishing  to 
render  you  ridiculous  by  imposing  on  your  credulity, 
but  from  the  desire  of  making  you  pleased  with  yourself. 

(10.)  Lies  of  Convenience. 

799.  The  sending  a  servant  with  a  message  of  “  not  at 
home,”  to  avoid  the  inconvenience  of  preparing  to  see 
visitors,  is  of  this  sort.  Also,  the  assignment  of  false  or 
trivial  reasons  for  declining  invitations,  or  for  neglecting 
to  keep  engagements. 

(11.)  Practical  Lies — 

800.  Lies  acted,  not  uttered :  such  as,  making  an  ap¬ 
pearance  beyond  what  the  circumstances  of  the  persons 
so  deceiving  really  warrant ;  the  custom  at  school  of 
getting  school-fellows  to  prepare  exercises  for  them,  or 
consenting  to  do  the  same  office  for  others ;  and  also,  the 
practice  of  parents  correcting  their  children’s  exercises, 
and  thereby  enabling  them  to  put  a  deceit  on  the  teacher. 

An  anecdote,  in  point,  may  be  found,  under  the  Fifth 
Commandment,  on  the  subject  of  parental  duty.  [Art. 
633.] 

(12.)  Lies  of  Mental  Reservation. 

801.  This  species  of  lie  has  been  justified  by  popish 
writers,  but  deserves  universal  execration,  because  it 
subverts  all  confidence  between  man  and  man.  It  con¬ 
sists  in  uttering  successively  a  few  words  aloud,  and  then 
muttex’ing  or  mentally  repeating  other  words,  which  to¬ 
tally  alter  their  meaning;  than  which,  it  is  impossible  to 
conceive  a  baser  attempt  to  deceive. 

(13.)  Falsehoods  of  History. 

802.  Truth  is  violated  in  history,  when  the  pi’incipal 
facts  are  blended  with  doubtful  or  fictitious  circum¬ 
stances  ;  when  the  conduct  of  liars  and  intriguers,  of 
public  robbers  and  murderers,  is  varnished  over  with  the 
false  glare  of  heroism  and  of  glory ;  and  when  the  ac¬ 
tions  of  upright  men  are,  without  sufficient  evidence, 
attributed  to  knavery  or  to  the  influence  of  fanaticism  ; 
when  the  writer  construes  actions  and  events,  and  at¬ 
tributes  to  the  actors  motives  and  designs  in  accordance 
with  his  own  prejudices  and  passions,  and  interweaves 


FALSEHOODS. 


389 


liis  opinions  anti  clerluctions  as  if  they  were  a  portion  oi 
the  authenticated  records  of  historical  fact. 

There  are  certain  historical  novels  which  are  deserving 
of  censure,  as  distorting  facts,  and  leading  those  who  read 
them  from  historical  verity. 

(14.)  Falsehoods  of  Scientific  Works. 

803.  Truth  is  violated  by  men  of  science,  when  they 
give  an  inaccurate  statement  of  the  results  of  their  ob¬ 
servations  or  experiments  ;  when,  either  through  care¬ 
lessness  or  design,  they  give  an  unfair  representation  of 
the  facts  and  principles  in  nature,  in  order  to  support 
a  favorite  system  or  hypothesis ;  and  when  they  studi¬ 
ously  keep  out  of  view  the  various  circumstances  in 
which  every  fact  should  be  contemplated. 

(15.)  Falsehoods  in  the  Literary  World. 

804.  Truth  is  violated  in  the  literary  world,  when  the 
editor  of  a  magazine  or  a  review  writes  an  article,  and 
addresses  it  to  himself,  as  if  it  came  from  the  pen  of 
another :  when,  for  the  sake  of  gain,  or  to  gratify  a 
friend,  he  bestows  encomiums  on  a  work  which  is  un¬ 
worthy  of  the  attention  of  the  public;  or  Avhen,  to  gratify 
a  mean,  or  revengeful  passion,  he  misrepresents,  or  abuses 
the  literary  productions  of  his  opponents ;  or  when  an 
author  writes  a  review  of  his  own  work,  and  imposes  it 
on  the  public,  as  if  it  were  the  decision  of  an  impartial 
critic. 

(16.)  Falsehoods  of  Controversy. 

805.  Truth  is  violated  by  controversialists,  when  they 
bring  forward,  in  support  of  any  position,  arguments 
which  they  are  conscious  are  either  weak  or  unsound ; 
when  they  appear  more  anxious  to  display  their  skill  and 
dexterity,  and  to  obtain  a  victory  over  their  adversaries, 
than  to  vindicate  the  cause  of  truth ;  when  sneers,  sar¬ 
casms,  and  personal  reproaches,  are  substituted  in  the 
room  of  substantial  arguments  ;  when  they  misrepresent 
the  sentiments  of  their  opponents,  by  stating  them  in 
terms  which  materially  alter  their  meaning ;  and  wdien 
they  palm  upon  them  doctrines  and  opinions  which  they 
entirely  disavow. 


390 


FALSEHOODS. 


(17.)  Falsehoods  of  Commercial  Transactions. 

806.  These  have  been  enumerated  under  the  head  of 
the  Eighth  Commandment. 

(18.)  Falsehoods  of  Signs. 

807.  Truth  is  violated  by  signs  as  well  as  by  words  : 
as,  when  we  point  with  our  finger  in  a  wrong  direction, 
when  a  traveler  is  inquiring  about  the  road  he  should 
take ;  when  an  American  ship  hoists  British  colors ; 
when  flags  of  truce  are  violated ;  when  spies  insinuate 
themselves  into  society  as  upright  men,  for  the  purpose 
of  entrapping  the  unwary;  when  fires  are  lighted,  or  put 
out,  to  deceive  mai'iners  at  sea;  and  when  signals  of  dis¬ 
tress  are  counterfeited  by  ships  at  sea,  for  the  puiqiose  of 
decoying  into  their  power  the  ships  of  an  enemy. 

(19.)  Falsehoods  which  are  not  Lies — 

808.  That  is,  which  are  not  criminal.  Are  there  any 
such  I  How  does  Paley  answer  this  question  ] 

Paley  answei’s  this  question  in  the  affirmative  as 
follows : — 

Ft  f  st j  "W^here  no  one  is  deceived  ;  whicn  is  the  case 
in  parables,  fables,  novels,  jests,  tales  to  create  mirth, 
ludicrous  embellishments  of  a  story,  where  the  declared 
design  of  the  speaker  is  not  to  inform,  but  to  divert; 
compliments  in  the  subscription  of  a  letter;  a  servant’s 
denying  his  master  (to  be  at  home,  when  he  is);  a 
prisoner  pleading  ‘not  guilty;’  an  advocate  asserting 
the  justice,  or  his  belief  of  the  justice,  of  his  client’s 
cause.  In  such  instances  no  confidence  is  destroyed, 
because  none  was  reposed ;  no  promise  to  speak  the 
truth  is  violated,  because  none  was  given,  or  understood 
to  be  given.” 

809.  Upon  these  remarks  of  Dr.  Paley,  it  is  important, 
by  way  of  correction,  to  observe —  . 

(1.)  Of  the  greater  number  of  cases  here  specified, 
there  is  no  falsehood  either  implied  or  expressed,  for 
they  are  objects  of  imagination  merely,  and  not  of  be¬ 
lief;  and  when  they  cease  to  hold  this  position,  and  are 
addressed  to  the  intellect  as  realities,  they  are  no  longer 
innocent. 

(2.)  When  the  common  understanding  among  men  of 


FALSEHOODS  VVHIEil  ARE  NOT  LIES. 


391 


the  signification  of  certain  expressions  is  not  violated,  a 
declaration  is  not  a  lie,  although,  in  the  common  mean¬ 
ing  of  the  terms  used,  there  would  be  a  falsehood ;  as  in 
closing  a  letter,  when  a  person  says,  “  I  am  your  obe¬ 
dient  servant,”  though  the  letter  itself  may  contain  a 
refusal  to  obey  or  to  serve  the  correspondent.  By  such 
complimentary  language  no  one  is  misled  ;  and  yet  it  is 
advisable  to  close  a  letter  in  other  terms  when  these  do 
not  express  the  literal  fact. 

(3.)  When  a  person  at  home  instructs  a  servant  to  tell 
visitoi's  that  he  is  not  at  home although  some  visitors 
may  understand  the  language  to  mean  that  he  does  not 
wish  to  see  visitors,  yet  the  use  of  such  language  is  to  be 
condemned:  because  it  is  not  necessary  to  use  it,  and 
because  the  use  of  it  cannot  fail  to  have  a  corrupting 
tendency  on  the  mind  of  a  servant,  and  further,  because 
some  visitors  would  be  deceived  by  it. 

It  is  said  of  Dr.  Johnson,  that  he  would  not  allow  his 
servants  to  lie  in  this  way.  “  A  servant’s  strict  regard 
for  truth,”  said  he,  “  must  be  weakened  by  such  a  prac¬ 
tice.  A  philosopher  may  know  that  it  is  merely  a  form 
of  denial ;  but  few  servants  are  such  distinguishers.  If 
I  accustom  a  servant  to  tell  a  lie  for  me,  have  I  not 
reason  to  apprehend  that  he  will  tell  many  more  for 
himself'?” 

(4.)  Among  the  multiplicity  of  falsehoods  which  are 
practiced  in  legal  processes,  the  system  of  pleading  ‘■'■not 
guilty”  is  one  that  appears  perfectly  useless.  It  is  used 
alike  by  the  guilty  and  the  not  guilty,  by  a  legal  neces¬ 
sity,  at  the  expense  of  literal  truth.  The  only  vindica¬ 
tion  in  any  person,  on  trial,  using  it,  is,  that  no  man  is 
obliged  (legally)  to  criminate  himself,  and  that  the  known 
signification  of  his  pleading  “  not  guilty,”  is,  that  he  does 
not  acknowledge  himself  to  be  guilty ;  that  he  demands 
the  right  of  trial,  and  his  innocence  is  to  be  presumed 
until  the  contrary  is  proved  by  legal  evidence. 

(5.)  However  dhficult  it  may  be,  in  some  cases,  for  a 
conscientious  advocate  to  discharge  his  professional  duties 
without  impairing  his  moral  feelings,  or  departing,  in 
any  degree,  from  the  laws  of  morality,  the  difficulty  is 
not  insuperable.  If  every  man  be  entitled  to  the  ad¬ 
vantage  of  law,  and  if  no  man  ought  to  be  condemned  but 
by  legal  evidence,  he  discharges  a  most  important  duty 


392  FALSEHOODS  WHICH  ARE  NOT  LIES  ? 

— important  in  regard  to  our  lives  and  liberties — who 
employs  his  talents  and  acquirements  in  obtaining  legal 
justice  for  his  client.  He  may  present  his  case  in  the 
most  favorable  light  of  which  it  is  capable,  without  any 
violation  of  truth, 

[For  a  full  discussion  of  this,  point,  read  Whewell’s  Elements,  vol.  i. 
pp.  282-5.] 

810.  Dr.  Paley,  in  his  second  answer  to  the  question, 
“Are  there  falsehoods  wdiich  are  not  criminal  1”  affirms 
that  “  falsehoods  are  not  lies,  that  is,  are  not  criminal, 
where  the  person  to  whom  you  speak  has  no  right  to 
know  the  truth ;  or,  more  properly,  when  little  or  no  in¬ 
convenience  results  from  the  want  of  confidence." 

811.  Upon  this  answer  of  Dr.  Paley  the  following 
remarks  may  be  offered  : — 

(1.)  To  the  plea  that  the  questioner  has  no  right  to 
know  the  truth,  it  is  proper  to  reply,  that  the  questioner 
has  a  right  not  to  be  told  a  lie,  for  all  men  have  such  a 
right.  By  answering  his  question  at  all,  I  give  him  a 
right  to  a  time  answer.  If  I  take  my  stand  on  the  ground 
that  he  has  no  right  to  an  answer,  I  must  give  him  no 
answer.  I  may  tell  him  that  he  has  no  right  to  an 
answer. 

Every  man  to  whom  we  profess  to  communicate  the 
truth  has  a  right  to  know  it.  We  thus  lead  him  to  be¬ 
lieve  that  we  mean  to  impart  to  him  the  desired  informa¬ 
tion.  We  are,  therefore,  not  at  liberty,  consistently  with 
justice,  to  use  any  stratagems  to  deceive  an  enemy, 
which  are  opposed  to  any  promise  of  sincerity,  either 
expressed  or  implied.  Other  stratagems,  in  war,  are  not 
to  be  condemned ;  because  they  might  be  expected,  and 
provided  against,  and  they  form  a  regular  part  of  the 
system  of  destruction  which  war  pursues.  It  is  here 
supposed,  however,  that  the  war  is  not  unjust,  on  the 
part  of  those  who  use  the  stratagem  referred  to. 

Dr.  Whewell  has  considered  some  cases  in  which  a 
refusal  to  give  an  answer,  would  constitute  an  answer, 
and  where  a  false  answer  is  justified  on  the  ground  of 
necessity,  to  avoid  conflict  with  other  moral  laws.  In 
such  cases,  a  lie  is  not  to  be  judged  of  by  common  rules. 

[See  WhewelFs  Elements,  vol.  i.  pp.  280-282,  290-302.] 

812.  The  view  which  has  been  taken  of  this  difficult 
topic,  by  Professor  Dick,  in  his  Lectures,  is,  perhaps,  as 


FALSEHOODS  WHICH  ARE  NOT  LIES  ?  393 

satisfactory  as  any  that  can  be  found  elsewhere ;  and  is 
the  following  : — 

Every  man  has  not  a  right  to  hear  the  truth  when  he 
chooses  to  derriand  it.  We  are  not  bound  to  answer 
every  question  which  may  be  proposed  to  us.  In  such 
cases  we  may  be  silent,  or  we  may  give  as  much  informa¬ 
tion  as  we  please,  and  suppress  the  rest.  If  the  person 
afterward  discovers  that  tlie  information  was  partial,  he  has 
no  title  to  complain,  because  he  had  not  a  right  even  to 
what  he  obtained ;  and  we  are  not  guilty  of  a  falsehood 
unless  we  made  him  believe,  by  something  which  we 
said,  that  the  information  w'as  complete. 

We  are  at  liberty  to  put  off,  with  an  evasive  answer, 
the  man  who  attempts  to  draw  from  us  what  we  ought 
to  conceal. 

On  the  ground  of  a  want  of  right  to  truth,  some  justify 
false  information  given  to  an  assassin  who  is  in  quest  of 
his  intended  victim,  and  false  promises  made  to  a  robber 
or  a  tyrant  who  has  extorted  them  by  violence.  It  does 
not  serve  much  purpose  to  discuss  extreme  cases,  which 
rarely  occur ;  and  it  is  hazardous  to  lay  down  a  rule 
which  may  in  any  degree  lessen  our  reverence  for  truth. 
We  have  a  choice,  when  we  are  exposed  to  danger, 
either  to  sin,  or  to  suffer;  and  if  there  be  any  doubt 
with  respect  to  the  lawfulness  of  an  expedient,  every 
man  of  a  tender  conscience  will  take  the  safer  side,  by 
doing  what  appears  to  be  his  duty,  and  will  leave  the 
consequences  to  Providence. 

813.  (2.)  The  other  form  in  which  Dr.  Paley  presents 
his  views,  is,  if  possible,  still  more  objectionable  :  it  is 
founded  on  the  principle  of  expediency ;  and  allows,  or 
rather  authorizes  us,  to  utter  falsehoods  as  often  as  we 
can  induce  oui'selves  to  believe  that  little  inconvenience 
will  result  from  the  want  of  confidence.  No  maxim, 
more  anti-scriptural,  or  more  immoral  in  its  tendency, 
can  be  conceived.  It  is  substituting  as  the  rule  of  moral 
conduct,  in  the  room  of  the  will  of  God,  our  own  limited 
and  partial  views  of  the  consequences  of  actions.  Will 
not  human  beings,  in  applying  this  rule,  think  as  much 
of  the  convenience  which  the  falsehood  will  yield  to 
themselves,  as  of  the  inconvenience  which  will  result  to 
others  1 

R* 


394 


OBLIGATION  OF  A  PROMISE. 


IV.  Nature  and  Obligation  of  a  Promise. 

814.  No  obligation  can  be  stronger  than  that  which 
attaches  to  the  fulfillment  of  a  declaration,  or  promise ;  and 
the  man  who  feels  not  its  force,  irrespective  of  the  effect 
which  a  character  for  fidelity,  or  the  opposite,  will  have 
on  his  rank  in  human  estimation,  is  already  deeply  de¬ 
praved. 

The  obligation  appears  from  the  arguments  already 
adduced  to  show  the  importance  of  truth  :  promises  are 
included  in  the  beai’ings  of  those  arguments. 

The  authority  of  God  on  this  subject  is  decisive  :  “  All 
liars  shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake  that  burneth  with 
fire  and  brimstone ;  which  is  the  second  death.” 

AVhen  an  individual,  by  an  engagement,  has  transferred 
to  his  neighbor  one  of  the  gifts  Avhich  God  had  bestowed 
upon  him,  the  latter  has  the  same  right  to  it  which  the 
original  proprietor  had  before  the  transfer ;  and  if  it  be 
withheld  from  him,  he  has  the  same  right  to  use  force  for 
the  recovery  of  it  as  for  the  recovery  of  any  other  article 
of  his  property. 

815.  It  is  not  more  manifest  that  a  promise  is  obliga¬ 
tory,  than  that  it  is  obligatory  in  the  sense  in  which  the 
jiromiser  knew,  at  the  time,  the  promisee  received  it. 
The  expectation  excited  by  the  promise,  is  nothing  more 
than  the  pi'omiser  was  aware  of ;  and  to  this  extent  he 
is  clearly  bound  to  fulfill  his  word.  He  has  knowingly 
and  voluntarily  conveyed  to  another  person  a  right  to  its 
.performance. 

Promises  are  binding  in  the  plain  and  natural  meaning 
of  the  terms  in  which  they  are  conveyed. 

816.  To  illustrate  this  position,  the  following  example 
is  employed  by  Dr.  Paley  :  Temures  promised  the  gar¬ 
rison-  of  Sebastian,  that,  if  they  would  suiTender,  no  blood 
should  be  shed.  The  garrison  surrendered;  and  Temures 
buried  them  all  alive.  Now,  in  one  sense,  he  fulfilled  the 
promise,  and  in  the  sense,  too,  in  which  he  intended  it  at 
the  time ;  but  not  in  the  sense  in  which  the  garrison  of 
Sebastian  actually  received  it,  nor  in  the  sense  in  which 
Temures  himself  knew  that  the  gaiTison  received  it ; 
which  last  sense  was  the  sense  in  which  he  was  in  con¬ 
science  bound  to  perform  it. 

817.  If  we  knowingly  and  voluntarily,  by  signs  merely. 


EXTORTED  PROMIriEd. 


395 


not  less  than  by  language,  awaken  expectation  in  another, 
that  is,  if  our  conduct  toward,  any  person  be  such  as  de¬ 
signedly,  on  our  part,  to  produce  a  natural  expectation 
on  his,  we  are  as  much  bound  by  the  laws  of  morality  to 
fulfill  this  expectation,  as  if  it  had  been  excited  by  a 
promise  in  words. 

818.  It  becomes  all,  therefore,  as  they  value  their  own 
peace  and  respectability  of  character,  and  more  especially 
does  it  become  those  of  a  wann  temperament,  of  an 
ardent  and  generous  disposition,  to  deliberate,  to  weigh 
well  the  import  of  their  words,  before  making  a  promise, 
lest  they  be  led  by  surprise,  or  good-nature,  or  impor¬ 
tunity,  to  encourage  expectations,  which,  without  doing 
injustice  to  themselves,  or  to  their  families,  or  to  the  in¬ 
terests  of  the  community,  they  may  not  be  able  to  fulfill. 
When,  from  whatever  cause,  such  promises  are  made, 
we  find  ourselves  placed  in  trying  circumstances — trying 
to  our  virtue  and  happiness ;  and  though  the  result  may 
not  impair  our  integrity,  it  may  greatly  affect  the  estima¬ 
tion  in  which  we  are  held,  and  consequently  our  power 
of  doing  good. 

819.  The  question  respecting  the  obligation  of  extorted 
2>roniises  is  argued  by  Paley  without  coming  to  any  defi¬ 
nite  decision — a  necessary  result  of  the  kind  of  argument 
which  he  pursues. 

Dr.  Dewar  speaks  with  more  decision ;  and  maintains 
that  extorted  promises  are  binding  in  every  case  in  which 
the  thing  promised  is  lawful — that  is,  when  the  promise 
is  of  that  nature  that  it  may  be  performed  without  in¬ 
fringing  on  my  duty  to  God,  to  my  neighbor,  or  myself. 
If  the  extorted  promise  refers  to  what  is  in  itself  unlaw¬ 
ful,  of  course  it  ought  not  to  be  performed. 

820.  A  promise  or  engagement  may  be  highly  criminal, 
from  the  time  and  manner  in  which  it  was  made  and  the 
dispositions  in  which  it  originated,  and  yet  it  may  be  un¬ 
lawful  to  break  it. 

The  illustration  is  given  by  Paley. 

821.  To  the  question,  “  In  what  cases  are  promises  not 
binding,”  it  may  be  briefly  replied,  that  a  man  is  morally 
bound  to  fulfill  his  engagements,  whether  the  person  to 
whom  the  promise  was  made,  or  with  whom  the  contract 
was  entered  into,  has  any  power,  or  not,  to  enforce  the 
fulfillment. 


396 


UNLAWFUL  PROMISES. 


He  can  only  be  released  from  bis  obligation  by  a 
^physical  incapacity  of  performing,  or  by  the  «/»- 

lawf  ulness  of  the  stipulation  into  which  he  has  entered. 

He  may,  and  he  ought  to  feel  the  sinfulness  of  having 
promised  or  engaged  to  perform,  what  by  no  exertions 
on  his  part  he  can  possibly  accomplish ;  but  he  can  have 
no  ground  for  moral  disapprobation  for  not  doing  that 
which  to  him  is  impossible.  If  he  was  aware  of  this  im¬ 
possibility  at  the  time  that  he  made  the  engagement,  he 
is  very  criminal,  inasmuch  as  he  has  fraudulently  awakened 
expectations,  knowing  that  it  was  beyond  his  power  to 
gratify  them. 

If  it  be  immoral  in  us  to  perfoim  a  certain  action,  it 
cannot  be  lawful  for  us  to  do  it;  and  consequently  we 
are  not  bound  to  do  it,  merely  because  we  have  entered 
into  an  engagement  to  that  effect.  We  may,  and  it  is 
very  proper  that  we  should,  suffer  from  remorse,  for  hav¬ 
ing  promised  or  contracted  to  do  what  was  in  itself  sinful 
in  us  in  any  circumstances  to  perform,  but  we  can  feel 
none  in  consequence  of  our  non-performance.  We  have 
just  cause  to  regret  an  error ;  but  to  fufill  our  engage¬ 
ment  could  only  furnish  an  additional  ground  of  self-con¬ 
demnation. 

The  criminality  of  such  promises  lies  in  making  them  ; 
the  sincerity  of  our  repentance  is  proved  by  breaking 
them. 

822.  The  case  of  Herod,  of  Judea,  funiishes  a  memora¬ 
ble  example  of  an  unlawful  promise  and  oath.  He  prom¬ 
ised  to  his  daughter-in-law,  “  that  he  would  give  her 
whatsoever  she  asked,  even  to  the  half  of  his  kingdom.” 
There  was  nothing  exceptionable  in  the  terms  in  which 
Herod  made  his  promise.  It  is  presumed  tlrtit  he  had  a 
right  to  give  away  the  half  of  his  kingdom.  But  ho  could 
have  none  to  take  away  the  lives  of  innocent  human 
beings.  So  far,  therefore,  from  being  bound  by  his  oath 
to  comply  with  the  unlawful  demand  of  Herodias,  he  was 
laid  under  the  strongest  moral  obligation,  for  the  reasons 
already  assigned  to  resist  and  refuse  it. 

823.  It  is  the  acceptance,  either  expressed  or  implied, 
that  constitutes  the  obligation  of  a  promise ;  and  not  the 
simple  promise  itself,  which  is  merely  a  declaration  on 
the  part  of  the  promiser  of  his  willingness  to  be  bound. 
If  I  have  promised  to  give  another  a  certain  sum  of 


EFFECTS  OF  OBSERVING  THE  NINTH  PRECEPT.  Ji07 


money,  but  he  declared  that  he  would  not  accept  it,  I  am 
released. 

824.  A  promise  is  not  binding  which  was  suspended 
on  a  condition,  if  the  condition  is  not  performed.  The 
promisee  has  lost  his  right,  or  rather  had  no  right  till  his 
part  of  the  stipulation  shall  have  been  fulfilled.  In  a 
word,  a  promise  ceases  to  be  binding  when  the  person 
to  whom  it  was  made  releases  the  promiser  from  his  en¬ 
gagement. 

Promises  that  are  not  binding. 

825.  (1.)  Promises  are  not  binding,  where  they  contra¬ 
dict  a  former  promise  ;  because  the  performance  is  then 
unlawful. 

(2.)  Erroneous  promises  are  not  binding  in  certain 
cases  :  as  where  the  error  proceeds  from  the  mistake  or 
misrepresentation  of  the  promisee  ;  because  a  promise 
evidently  supposes  the  truth  of  the  account  which  the 
pi'omisee  relates  in  order  to  obtain  it. 

Again,  when  the  promise  is  understood  by  the  promisee 
to  proceed  upon  a  certain  supposition,  or  when  the  promiser 
apprehended  it  to  be  so  understood,  and  that  supposition 
turns  out  to  be  false.  Illustrations  of  both  these  cases  will 
be  found  in  Paley. 

V.  Effects  of  a  universal  and  coniidete  Observance  of  the  Ninth 

Commandment. 

826.  Were  falsehood  universally  detested,  and  the  love 
of  truth  universally  cherished,  and  veracity  practiced,  a 
most  desirable  change  would  be  effected  in  the  condition 
of  mankind.  The  vast  host  of  liars,  perjurers,  sharpers, 
seducers,  slanderers,  tale-bearers,  quacks,  thieves,  swin¬ 
dlers,  fraudulent  dealers,  false  friends,  flatterers,  corrupt 
judges,  sophists,  hypocrites,  and  impostors  in  a  religious 
garb,  with  the  countless  multitude  of  frauds,  impositions, 
falsehoods,  and  distresses  which  have  followed  in  their 
train,  would  instantly  disappear  from  among  men.  Con¬ 
fidence  would  be  restored  throughout  every  department 
of  social  life.  With  beautiful  simplicity  and  harmony 
would  the  world  of  trade  move  on  in  all  its  transactions. 
How  many  cares  would  vanish  !  how  many  ruinous  liti¬ 
gations  would  be  prevented.  The  tribunals  of  justice 
would  be  purified  from  every  species  of  sophistry  and  de- 


398 


QUESTIONS  ON  THE  NINTH  PRECEPT. 


ceit.  Numberless  other  changes,  beneficial  to  man,  would 
be  at  once  introduced  and  perpetuated. 

[Professor  Dick’s  Lectures  on  Moral  Law ;  Dick’s  Philosophy  of  Reli¬ 
gion  ;  Seeker’s  Lectures ;  Dewar’s  Moral  Philosophy.] 


777.  What  crime  is  expressly  forbidden  in  the  ninth  precept  T 

778.  What  breach  of  this  precept  is  next  mentioned  ? 

779.  780.  In  what  other  methods  may  the  ninth  precept  be  violated  in 
courts  of  justice  ? 

781.  Explain  the  crime  of  slander? 

782.  Is  speaking  the  truth,  to  the  disadvantage  of  others,  always  inno¬ 
cent  ? 

783.  How  may  this  precept  be  transgressed  without  speaking? 

784.  May  this  precept  be  transgressed  even  by  speaking  good  of  others  ? 

785.  What  is  the  design  of  this  precept  ? 

786.  How  can  it  be  shown  that  veracity,  or  the  uttering  of  truth,  is  of 
immense  importance  to  intelligent  beings  ? 

787.  How  has  the  Creator  guarded  human  society  against  such  disas¬ 
trous  effects  ? 

788.  How  may  truth  be  defined  ? 

789.  What  is  a  lie  ? 

790.  What  is  meant  by  lies  of  malignity  ? 

791.  What  are  jocose  lies? 

792.  Benevolent  lies  ? 

793.  Pious  lies,  or  frauds  ? 

794.  Lies  of  equivocation? 

795.  Lies  of  vanity  ? 

796.  Lies  of  flattery  ? 

797.  Lies  of  fear? 

798.  Lies  falsely  called  lies  of  benevolence  ? 

799.  What  are  lies  of  convenience? 

800.  Practical  lies  ? 

801.  Lies  of  mental  reservation? 

802.  Falsehoods  of  history? 

803.  Falsehoods  of  scientific  works? 

804.  Falsehoods  in  the  literary  world? 

805.  Falsehoods  of  controversy  ? 

806.  Falsehoods  of  commercial  transactions? 

807.  Falsehoods  of  signs  ? 

808.  Falsehoods  which  are  not  lies? 

809.  What  remarks  may  be  offered  upon  this  answer  of  Dr.  Paley  ? 

810.  What  is  Paley’s  second  answer  to  the  question,  “Are  there  false¬ 
hoods  which  are  not  criminal?” 

811.  What  remarks  should  be  made  upon  this  answer  ? 

812.  What  view  of  this  difficult  topic  has  been  given  by  Professor  Dick  ? 

813.  In  what  more  objectionable  form  has  Dr.  Paley  stated  further  his 
views?  . 

814.  How  is  the  obligation  of  a  promise  demonstrated? 

815.  In  what  sense  are  promises  to  be  interpreted? 

816.  By  what  example  does  Dr.  Paley  illustrate  this  position  ? 

817.  May  not  promises  be  made  by  signs,  as  well  as  by  words  ? 

818.  In  view  of  this  position,  what  counsel  is  appropriate  and  im¬ 
portant  ? 

819.  Are  extorted  promises  binding  ? 

820.  What  other  case,  a  rare  one,  may  be  mentioned  in  which  a  promise 
is  binding? 

821.  In  what  cases  are  promises  not  binding? 

822.  What  memorable  example  of  an  unlawful  promise  and  oath  have 
we  m  the  case  of  Herod,  of  Judea  ? 


THE  TENTH  COMMANDMENT. 


399 


823.  Is  a  promise  binding,  if  the  acceptance  has  not  been  expressly  or 
virtually  signified  ? 

824.  Is  a  conditional  promise  binding,  if  the  condition  be  not  performed 
by  the  promisee  ? 

825.  What  other  sorts  of  promises  are  not  binding  ? 

826.  Effects  of  a  universal  observance  of  this  precept  ? 

THE  TENTH  COMMANDMENT. 

“  Thou  shall  not  covet  thy  neighbor's  house ;  thou  shall  not  covet  thy  neighbor's 

wife ;  nor  his  man-servant-,  nor  his  maidservant,,  nor  his  ox,  nor  his  ass  ;  nor 

anything  that  is  thy  neighbor's." 

I.  Meaning  of  the  word  Covet. 

827,  “  The  affection  or  emotion  expressed  by  the  term 
covet,  or  desire,  is  not  in  itself  sinful,  but  becomes  so  by 
reason  of  the  circumstances  or  the  degree  in  which  it  is  in¬ 
dulged.  Accordingly,  it  is  not  simply  and  absolutely  said 
in  this  commandment,  ‘  Thou  shalt  not  covet,’  as  in  the 
preceding  commandments,  ‘  Thou  shalt  not  kill,’  ‘  Thou 
shalt  not  steal,’  &c.,  but  a  variety  of  objects  are  specified, 
toward  which,  in  their  relations  to  others,  this  inward 
emotion  is  not  to  go  forth.  In  the  present  connection,  the 
word  strictly  signifies  to  desire  to  have  as  our  own  what 
belongs  to  our  neighbor,  to  his  loss  or  prejudice,  or  with¬ 
out  his  consent ;  and  it  implies  that  degree  of  propensity 
or  appetence  toward  an  object  which  usually  prompts  to 
the  obtaining  of  it,  or  which  immediately  precedes  a  voli¬ 
tion  to  that  effect. 

“  There  can  be  no  harm  in  desiring  a  neighbor  to  sell 
me  his  house  for  the  real  value  of  it ;  but  it  is  wrong  to 
desire  to  possess  the  house  by  means  of  injustice  or  vio¬ 
lence.  That  coveting  a  man’s  wife  also,  which  is  here 
forbidden,  is  not  so  much  the  desire  of  an  adulterous  in¬ 
tercourse  with  her  while  she  remains  his  wife,  though 
this  is  expressly  forbidden,  as  desiring  that  she  may  cease 
to  be  his  wife  (either  by  divorce,  or  death),  and  become 
the  wife  of  the  coveting  person.  In  like  manner,  covet¬ 
ing  my  neighbor’s  house  is  nothing  else  than  earnestly 
wishing  that  it  may  cease  to  be  his  property  and  become 
mine.  The  prohibition  against  coveting  forbids  also  all 
the  actual  effects  that  legitimately  flow  from  the  harboring 
and  cherishing  the  interdicted  affections  and  passions.” 

[Bush  on  Exodus.] 

II.  Design  of  this  Precept. 

828.  (1.)  The  direct  object  of  this  precept  is  not  our  ex- 


400 


DESIGN  OF  THE  TENTH  PRECEPT. 


ternal  actions,  but  the  desires ;  and  hence  it  appears  to 
be  supplementary  to  the  other  precepts.  We  have  shown 
indeed  that  those  also  must  be  understood  to  extend  to 
the  feelings  and  affections  :  they  proceeded  from  a  Being 
who  will  not  be  satisfied  with  outward  obedience.  But 
lest  men  might  not  discover  this  truth,  and  should  plead 
that,  in  conforming  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  they  had  ful¬ 
filled  its  demands,  this  precept  is  added  to  show  that  the 
law  in  its  prohibitions  and  requisitions  extends  to  the  in¬ 
ward  springs  of  action. 

(2.)  It  may  have  been  another  ohject  in  adding  this 
precept,  to  sliow  the  necessity  of  regulating  and  restrain¬ 
ing  the  desires,  as  indispensable  to  the  observance  of  the 
other  precepts.  The  desires,  when  improperly,  inordi¬ 
nately  indulged,  naturally  lead  to  the  violation  of  every 
other  precept  of  the  divine  law,  and  constitute  the  source 
of  more  than  one  half  of  all  the  evils  that  afflict  the  human 
race.  By  forbidding  us  to  desire  anything  that  belongs 
to  our  neighbor,  it  aims  at  eradicating  the  principle  which 
might  lead  us  to  injure  him  in  his  person,  his  character, 
or  any  of  his  rights.  It  is  the  safeguard  of  all  the  precepts 
of  the  Second  Table ;  and  it  comes  in  at  the  close,  to  re¬ 
mind  us  that  the  heart  must  be  pure  as  well  as  the  life. 

(3.)  Another  object  of  this  precept  would  seem  to  be, 
to  furhid  all  such  dissatisfactio7i  loith  our  lot,  as  might  lead 
us  to  form  intentions  and  make  endeavors  to  change  it  by 
any  means  inconsistent  with  justice  and  love  to  our  neigh¬ 
bor,  or  inconsistent  with  entire  submission  to  the  will  of 
God. 

The  reason  that  we  covet  the  things  which  belons:  to 
our  neighbor,  is,  that  we  arc  not  fully  pleased  with  the  lot 
which  Providence  has  assigned  us.  A  contented  state  of 
mind  would  remove  the  cause  of  those  irregular  affections, 
which  it  is  the  design  of  this  precept  to  restrain. 

III.  Law  of  the  Desires. 

829.  The  good  things  of  this  life  being  the  gifts  of  God, 
for  which  all  are  to  be  thankful  to  him  ;  the  desiring,  with 
due  moderation,  and  submission  to  God,  a  comfortable 
share  of  them,  is  very  natural  and  right :  the  wishing  that 
our  share  were  larger,  is,  in  the  case  of  many  persons,  so 
far  from  a  sin,  that  the  endeavor  diligently  to  enlarge  it 
is  part  of  their  duty.  The  wish  that  it  was  equal  to  that 


PROHIBITED  DESIRES. 


401 


of  another  person,  is  not  wishing  ill  to  him,  hut  good,  to 
ourselves.  “  A  man  may  desire  an  increase  of  his  prop¬ 
erty  without  having  a  covetous,  or  even  discontented  heart. 
Such  wishes  are  the  moving  spring  to  all  worldly  enter¬ 
prise  and  prosperity,  without  which  the  various  businesses 
of  life  would  languish  and  die.”  Moreover,  not  only  the 
wish,  but  the  effort  to  obtain  what  belongs  to  another 
may,  in  pi’oper  circumstances,  be  perfectly  innocent :  we 
may  really  have  occasion  for  it ;  he  may  be  well  able  to 
bestow  it ;  or  he  may  have  occasion  for  something  of  ours 
in  return  :  and  on  these  mutual  wants  of  men  all  commerce 
and  trade  is  founded,  which  the  Creator,  unquestionably, 
designed  to  be  carried  on,  because  he  has  made  all  coun¬ 
tries  to  abound  in  some  things  and  left  them  deficient  in 
others. 

Prohibited  Desires. 

830.  (1.)  Those  which  are  unsuitahle  and  immoderate, 
as,  for  example  : — 

If  our  neighbor  cannot  lawfully  pait  with  his  property, 
nor  we  lawfully  receive  it,  and  yet  we  desire  to  have  it. 
One  instance  of  this  kind  is  expressed  in  the  precept, 
“  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor’s  wife  another  is, 
if  we  desire  a  person  who  possesses  anything  in  trust,  or 
under  certain  limitations,  to  give  or  sell  it  in  breach  of 
that  trust  or  those  limitations  ;  or,  if  he  can  part  with  it, 
but  is  not  willing,  and  we  entertain  thoughts  of  acquiring 
it  by  force  and  fraud,  or  of  being  revenged  on  him  for  his 
refusal,  this  is  also  highly  blamable ;  for  why  should  he 
not  be  left  in  quiet  possession  of  his  own  'I  Indeed,  the 
bare  act  of  pressing  and  importuning  persons  contrary  to 
their  interest,  or  even  their  inclination  only,  is  in  some 
degree  wrong ;  for  it  is  one  way  of  extorting  things  from 
them,  or  at  least  of  giving  them  trouble  when  we  have  no 
right  to  give  it. 

(2.)  Our  desires  are  criminal,  if  they  lead  us  to  envy 
others,  that  is,  to  be  uneasy  at  their  imagined  superior 
happiness,  and  to  wish  them  ill,  or  take  pleasure  in  any 
hanu  that  befalls  them  ;  for  this  turn  of  mind  will  prompt 
us  to  do  them  ill,  if  we  can,  as  indeed  a  great  part  of  the 
mischief  that  is  done  in  the  world  proceeds  from  envy. 
“  Wrath  is  cruel,  and  anger  is  outrageous,  but  who  is  able 
to  stand  before  envy  V  Prov.  xxvii.  4. 


402 


AVARICE. 


(3.)  Though  our  selfish  desires  were  to  raise  in  us  no 
malignity  against  our  fellow-creatures ;  yet  if  they 
us  to  murmur  against  our  Creator,  and  either  to  speak  or 
think  ill  of  that  distribution  of  things  which  His  providence 
has  made,  this  is  great  impiety  and  inj  ustice,  because  He 
has  an  absolute  right  to  dispose  of  the  work  of  his  hand 
as  he  pleases,  and  always  exercises  this  right,  both  with 
justice,  and  with  goodness,  toward  us. 

(4.)  Our  desires,  of  course,  are  criminal,  when  they  con- 
template  any  act  or  j^ossession  fm-hidden  hy  the  laws  of  God, 
or  hy  any  fist  human  law. 

IV.  Forms  of  Covetousness,  or  Irregular  Desire. 

831.  Of  covetousness  there  are  two  prominent  forms  : 
avarice,  or  an  inordinate  and  selfish  regard  for  money  ; 
and  ambition,  or  an  inordinate  desire  of  power,  superi¬ 
ority,  and  distinction. 

(1.)  Avarice. 

832.  Avarice  arises  from  the  perception  “  that  money 
answereth  all  things.”  Riches  in  themselves,  indeed,  are 
no  evil.  Nor  is  the  hdse  j^ossession  of  them  wrong.  Nor 
is  the  desire  to  possess  them  sinful,  provided  that  desire 
exist  under  certain  restrictions.  For  in  almost  every 
stage  of  civilization  money  is  requisite  to  procure  the 
conveniences,  and  even  the  necessaiies  of  life  :  to  desire 
it,  therefore,  as  the  means  of  life,  is  as  innocent  as  to  live. 
In  its  higher  application  it  may  be  made  the  instrument 
of  great  relative  usefulness;  to  seek  it  then,  as  a  means 
of  doing  good,  is  not  a  vice,  but  a  virtue. 

But  perceiving  that  money  is  so  important  an  agent  in 
society,  that  it  not  only  fences  off  the  wants  and  woes  of 
poverty,  but  that,  like  a  center  of  attraction,  it  can  draw 
to  itself  every  object  of  worldly  desire  from  the  farthest 
circumference  ;  the  temptation  arises  of  desiring  it  inor¬ 
dinately  ;  of  even  desiring  it  for  its  own  sake ;  of  sup¬ 
posing  that  the  instrument  of  procuring  so  much  good 
must  itself  possess  intrinsic  excellence. 

833.  With  respect  to  the  passion  for  money,  the  most 
obvious  and  general  distinction,  perhaps,  is  that  which 
divides  it  into  the  desire  of  getting,  as  contradistinguished 
from  the  desire  of  keeping  that  which  is  already  pos¬ 
sessed. 


COVETOUSNESS. 


403 


These  divisions  may  be  subdivided :  the  former,  into 
worldliness,  rapacity,  and  an  ever-craving,  all-consuming 
prodigality  ;  the  latter,  into  parsimony,  niggardliness,  and 
avarice. 

834.  By  worldliness,  is  meant  cupidity  in  its  earliest, 
most  plausible,  and  prevailing  form ;  not  yet  sufficiently 
developed  to  be  conspicuous  to  the  eye  of  man,  yet  suf¬ 
ficiently  active  to  incur  the  prohibition  of  God. 

Rapacity,  is  covetousness  grasping — “  making  haste  to 
be  rich.”  It  is  a  passion  that  compels  every  other  feel¬ 
ing  to  its  aid  ;  the  day  seems  too  short  for  it.  Deter¬ 
mined  to  gratify  itself,  it  overlooks  the  morality  of  the 
means,  despises  alike  the  tardiness  of  industry,  and  the 
scruples  of  integrity,  and  thinks  only  of  the  readiest  way 
to  success. 

Parsimony,  is  covetousness  parting  with  its  life-blood. 
It  is  the  frugality  of  selfishness  ;  the  art  of  parting  with 
as  little  as  possible. 

Avarice,  is  covetousness  hoarding.  It  is  the  love  of 
money  in  the  abstract,  or  for  its  own  sake,  and  not  as  a 
means  of  procuring  other  gratifications.  It  is  regarded 
as  an  ultimate  good.  Other  vices  have  a  particular  view 
to  enjoyment  (falsely  so  called),  but  the  very  term  miser, 
is  a  confession  of  the  misery  which  attends  avarice  ;  for, 
in  order  to  save  his  gold,  the  miser  robs  himself.  He 
cannot  be  said  to  possess  wealth ;  wealth  possesses  him. 

Prodigality ,  though  strictly  opposed  to  avarice,  or 
hoarding,  is  quite  compatible  with  cupidity.  The  char¬ 
acter  which  Sallust  gives  of  Cataline,  that  “  he  was  cove¬ 
tous  of  other  men’s  wealth,  while  he  squandered  his  own,” 
is  of  very  common  occurrence.  Men  must  be  covetous, 
that  they  may  be  prodigal.  Prodigality  strengthens  cov¬ 
etousness  by  keeping  it  in  constant  activity,  and  covetous¬ 
ness  strengthens  prodigality,  by  slavishly  feeding  its 
voracious  appetite.  [Consult  “  Mammon,”  by  Dr.  Harris.] 

835.  Covetousness  leads  to  the  commission  of  almost 
every  crime  :  the  apostle  Paul  declares  it  to  be  the  root 
of  all  evil.  The  Scriptures  hold  up  to  our  view  its  de¬ 
basing  influence  on  Balaam,  who  loved  the  wages  of  un¬ 
righteousness  :  on  Judas,  who,  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver, 
sold  his  divine  master  :  on  Demas,  who  deserted  the 
ministry  of  the  gospel,  having  loved  this  present  world  : 
on  Demetrius  and  his  associates,  who,  for  the  sake  of 


404 


COVETOUSNESS. - AMBITION. 


gain,  zealously  supported  a  system  of  idolatrous  super¬ 
stition. 

What  instigates  the  murderer,  in  defiance  of  the  au¬ 
thority  of  God  and  his  own  conscience,  to  take  away  the 
life  of  a  fellow-creature  1  It  is,  in  many  cases,  the  in¬ 
ordinate  desire  of  property.  To  the  same  cause  we  may 
trace  all  the  crimes  of  pei'sons  who  render  jails  and 
bridewells  necessary :  theft,  swindling,  robbery,  forgery, 
smuggling,  perjury. 

The  influence  of  this  vice  is  perniciously  felt  in  every 
situation  in  life  :  by  the  poor,  and  the  rich,  by  the  young, 
and  the  aged. 

The  miserly  man  is  the.  prey  of  restless  and  contending 
passions — of  falsehoods,  and  rapacious  schemes — of  anxie¬ 
ties,  and  perplexities,  and  disappointments.  He  is  not 
only  miserable  himself,  but  becomes  a  moral  nuisance  to 
the  neighborhood  around  him  ;  stinting  his  own  family 
of  necessary  comforts  ;  oppressing  the  widow  and  the 
fatherless  :  grasping  from  others  everything  within  his 
reach. 

836.  Avarice  has  plundered  palaces,  churches,  seats  of 
learning,  and  repositories  of  art ;  it  has  polluted  courts 
of  judicature  and  the  tribunals  of  justice  ;  it  has  con'upted 
many  of  the  ministers  of  religion ;  it  has  ground  whole 
nations  to  poverty  iinder  the  load  of  taxation ;  it  has 
drenched  large  territories  in  human  gore.  It  was  the 
cursed  love  of  gold  that  excited  the  Spaniards  to  ravage 
the  territories  of  Mexico  and  Peru  ;  to  violate  every  prin¬ 
ciple  of  justice  and  humanity  ;  to  perpetrate  the  most 
horrid  cruelties  upon  the  unoffending  inhabitants. 

The  same  principle  commenced,  and  carries  on,  that 
abominable  traffic,  the  slave-trade,  which  has  entailed 
misery  in  its  worst  forms  on  millions  of  the  sons  of  Africa. 

(2.)  Anibilion. 

837.  This  passion  is  manifested  in  a  greater  or  less 
degree,  by  men  of  all  ranks  and  characters,  and  in  every 
situation  in  life.  It  consists  in  an  inordinate  love  of 
greater  power  or  distinction,  and  in  the  effort  to  obtain 
it,  than  is  actually  possessed. 

838.  The  following  considerations  show  the  sinfulness 
of  this  passion  : — 

(1.)  It  is  an  impeachment  of  the  wisdom,  and  a  dispar- 


AMBITION. 


405 


agement  of  the  goodness  of  God,  to  give  way  to  impa¬ 
tience  and  discontent  with  his  allotments,  and  inordinately 
to  desire  the  station,  the  influence,  the  blessings,  pos¬ 
sessed  by  others. 

(2.)  It  is  ruinous  in  its  influence  on  the  best  interests 
of  communities. 

Does  it  aim  at  literary  honor  and  distinction — how  often 
has  ambition,  in  this  way,  sought  its  object  at  the  expense 
of  truth,  by  disparaging,  if  not  denying,  the  character,  the 
government,  and  the  providence  of  God  ;  by  vilifying  the 
revelation  which  he  has  given  of  his  will,  and  of  his  mer¬ 
ciful  designs;  and  by  flattering  the  vanity,  and  stimula¬ 
ting  the  sensuality  and  corruption  of  man  !  It  is  this 
guilty  principle  that  has  filled  the  world  with  a  species 
of  literature  with  which  it  is  dangerous  to  be  acquainted  ; 
which  is  the  vehicle  of  infidelity  in  all  its  forms  of  refine¬ 
ment  and  coarseness,  which  addresses  itself,  in  sarcasm, 
in  wit,  in  ridicule,  in  polluting  insinuation,  to  the  passions 
of  the  reader.  It  exists  under  the  garb  of  history,  of 
poetry,  of  philosophy,  and  of  periodical  journals  ;  assail¬ 
ing  the  highest  interests  of  man  as  a  moral,  a  religious, 
an  immortal  being. 

Does  Ambition  seek  political  distinction  and  power — 
how  destructive  has  it  been  in  this  way  in  all  ages  of  the 
world  !  To  what  madness  and  crime  has  it  led  individu¬ 
als,  both  in  ancient  and  in  modern  times  !  If  we  beheld 
hamlets  and  cities  in  ruins  ;  the  means  of  subsistence,  the 
domestic  enjoyments  of  multitudes  wasted ;  and  war 
spreading  misery  and  death  over  the  face  of  that  world 
on  which  the  Creator  lavishes  his  bounty,  we  should  only 
witness  some  of  the  evils  which  cruel  and  hard-hearted 
Ambition  voluntarily  produces. 

V.  The  opposite  of  Covetousness — Contentment. 

839.  In  order  to  exercise  this  virtue,  it  is  not  necessary 
that  we  should  feel  indifferent  to  the  evils  connected  with 
the  circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed.  On  the  con¬ 
trary,  it  implies  the  existence  of  events  not  in  themselves 
agreeable  to  us  ;  but  to  which  we  feel  it  to  be  our  duty 
to  reconcile  our  minds,  by  moderating  our  desires  after 
unattainable  good,  and  by  bearing  with  equanimity  and 
resignation  our  difficulties  and  trials. 


406 


CONTENTMENT. 


Virtues  included  in  Contentment. 

840.  (1.)  It  implies  a  frame  of  mind  and  course  of  life 
so  virtuous  that  its  possessor  is  at  peace  with  himself. 

(2.)  It  implies  such  a  conviction  of  the  infinite  excel¬ 
lence  of  the  divine  government,  and  such  a  humble  hope 
of  divine  favor,  and  such  a  sense  of  personal  unworthiness, 
as  will  lead  to  a  cheerful  acquiescence  in  all  the  dispen¬ 
sations  of  divine  providence. 

841.  We  observe  that  vanity  sometimes  produces  the 
effect  which  should  always  flow  from  religion.  Some 
persons  are  highly  pleased  with  themselves,  and  every¬ 
thing  which  pertains  to  them.  Their  houses,  their  wives, 
their  children,  their  property,  are  so  much  better  than 
those  of  others,  that  they  have  no  wish  to  make  an  ex¬ 
change  ;  and  wrapt  up  in  the  dream  of  superiority,  they 
allow  the  world  to  go  on  in  its  course,  without  envying 
any  one,  or  disturbing  any  one,  except  by  an  ostentatious 
display  of  their  advantages. 

842.  The  tendency  of  the  tenth  precept  is  to  promote 
the  happiness  of  mankind,  while  it  honors  the  God  of 
providence. 

If  it  were  engraven  upon  our  hearts ;  if  our  thoughts 
and  affections  were  under  its  control,  there  would  be  an 
end  to  the  complaints  and  murmurs,  the  cares  and  anxie¬ 
ties,  which  agitate  our  minds  ;  the  world  would  no  longer 
present  the  disgusting  spectacle  of  afield  of  battle,  where 
emulation,  wu'ath,  strife,  deceit,  and  violence  act  their 
part,  men  prey  upon  one  another,  and  all  contend  who 
shall  be  conquerors  in  the  struggle  for  honor  and  wealth. 

[Dewar’s  Moral  Philosophy;  Professor  Dick’s  Lectures;  Seeker’s 
Works;  Dick’s  Philosophy  of  Religion.] 


827.  What  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  covet  ? 

828.  What  is  the  direct  object  or  design  of  this  precept  ? 

829.  To  what  extent  may  desire  be  lawfully  indulged  ? 

830.  Since  then  not  every  sort  of  desires  is  forbidden  in  this  precept, 
what  desires  are  forbidden  ? 

831.  What  prominent  forms  of  covetousness  may  here  properly  be  con¬ 
sidered  ? 

832.  Whence  does  our  liability  to  this  sin  arise  ? 

833.  How  may  the  passion  for  money  be  distinguished  ? 

834.  WTat  is  denoted  by  the  various  forms  of  the  passion  for  money — 
by  worldliness,  by  rapacity,  by  parsimony,  by  avarice,  by  prorligality  ? 

835.  What  are  some  of  the  evil  tendencies  of  covetousness? 

836.  What  are  some  of  the  bad  effects  of  avarice  upon  communities  and 
nations  ? 

837.  W'here  is  ambition  manifested  ? 


MORAL  LESSONS  OP  BIOGRAPHY. 


407 


838.  How  does  the  sinfulness  of  this  passion  appear  ? 

839.  What  is  to  be  understood  by  contentment — the  duty  implied  in  the 
Tenth  Commandment  ? 

840.  WTat  virtues  are  included  in  the  exercise  of  contentment  ? 

841.  Is  there  any  disposition  beside  religion  which  sometimes  produces 
contentment  ? 

842.  What  then  is  the  happy  tendency  of  an  observance  of  the  Tenth 
Commandment  ? 


CHAPTER  V. 

MORAL  LESSONS  OF  BIOGRAPHY. 

843.  The  duties  of  man  have,  in  the  preceding  portions 
of  this  work,  been  drawn,  (1.)  From  the  two  fundamental 
laws  of  Love  to  God,  and  Love  to  Man.  (2.)  From  our 
Savior’s  Golden  Rule.  (3.)  From  St.  Paul’s  exhibition 
of  love  and  its  manifestations.  (4.)  From  the  principle 
of  Love  to  Man,  viewed  under  certain  general  relations. 
(5.)  From  the  Ten  Precepts  of  the  Moral  Latv,  explained 
and  amplified  by  a  reference  to  other  preceptive  parts  of 
the  sacred  volume. 

844.  There  is  still  another  source  of  valuable  instruc¬ 
tion  in  human  duty.  The  hiographij  of  those  who  have 
carefully  studied,  and  most  exactly  conformed  to,  the  va¬ 
rious  delineations  of  duty  furnished  in  the  sacred  scrip¬ 
tures,  supplies  a  very  pleasing  and  instructive  means  of 
learninof  how  to  feel  and  act  under  the  varied  circum- 
stances,  and  in  the  various  professions  of  human  life. 

845.  A  large  amount  of  valuable  biography,  drawn  by 
an  unerring  hand,  is  combined  in  the  sacred  scriptures  ; 
and  this  may  be  regarded  as  a  practical  illustration  of 
moral  law,  either  in  the  form  of  obedience  or  transgres¬ 
sion  ;  and  may  serve  the  purpose  of  imitation  or  of  ad¬ 
monition. 

This  remark  may  be  applied  to  biography  in  general,  and 
serves  to  illustrate  the  value  of  this  species  of  literature. 

846.  Preeminent  above  all  other  characters  is  the  hu¬ 
man  character  and  conduct  of  Jesus  Christ — the  beautiful 
and  the  perfect  example  of  human  virtue  which  he  ex¬ 
hibited  to  his  disciples,  and  to  the  world. 

Next  to  his  biography,  in  value,  contained  in  the  New 
Testament,  must  be  ranked  the  biography  of  those  re¬ 
markable  men  and  women  that  lived  in  the  first  and 


408 


MORAL  LESSONS  OF  BIOGRAPHY. 


purest  age  of  the  Christian  church — the  biography  of  those 
who  imbibed  most  largely  his  spirit,  and  conformed  most 
closely  to  his  example.  Among  these,  perhaps,  stands 
preeminent  the  apostle  Paul. 

Subsequent  centuries  of  the  Christian  church  have  con¬ 
tributed  valuable  additions  to  the  biographical  literature 
contained  in  the  sacred  volume.  The  Reformation  in 
the  time  of  Luther  gave  birth  and  prominence  to  many 
illustrious  examples  of  the  Christian  and  human  virtues ; 
and,  from  that  period  to  this,  divine  providence  has  been 
greatly  multiplying  their  number,  so  that  in  our  own  day 
biographical  literature  is  sufficiently  extensive  to  consti¬ 
tute,  of  itself,  a  respectable  and  a  most  valuable  library — 
valuable,  as  furnishing  one  of  the  most  agreeable,  practi¬ 
cal,  and  impressive  modes  by  which  a  knowledge  of  hu¬ 
man  duty  may  be  learned  to  advantage. 

This  remark  is  limited  to  the  memoirs  of  moral  and 
Christian  characters,  and  is  not,  obviously,  to  be  extended 
to  the  memoirs  of  the  base,  the  corrupt,  the  profligate, 
unless  written  by  men  of  moral  and  Christian  principle 
for  moral  ends  and  uses. 

In  the  annals  of  a  truly  Christian  benevolence,  since  the 
days  of  the  apostle  Paul,  no  man  stands  forth  to  better 
advantage  and  with  a  stronger  claim  upon  our  admiration 
than  the  distinguished  Howard  of  England.  The  greater 
part  of  his  life  he  devoted  to  the  alleviation  of  human 
wretchedness  where  he  traveled,  exposing  himself  to  the 
infected  atmospheres  of  hospitals  and  jails,  in  order  to  im¬ 
prove  the  condition  of  the  unfortunate.  In  this  labor  of 
love,  he  traveled  three  times  through  France,  four  times 
through  Germany,  five  times  through  Holland,  twice 
through  Italy,  once  through  Spain  and  Portugal,  and  also 
through  Denmark,  Sweden,  Russia,  Poland,  and  part  of 
the  Turkish  empire,  distributing  benefits  to  the  miserable 
wherever  he  appeared. 

From  realm  to  realm,  with  cross  or  crescent  crowned. 

Where’er  mankind  and  misery  are  found. 

O’er  burning  sands,  deep  waves,  or  wilds  of  snow. 

Mild  Howard  journeying  seeks  the  house  of  woe. 

Down  many  a  winding  step  to  dungeons  dank. 

Where  anguish  wails  aloud  and  fetters  clank, 

To  caves  bestrewed  with  many  a  moldering  bone. 

And  cells  whose  echoes  only  learn  to  groan  ; 

Where  no  kind  bars  a  whispering  friend  disclose. 

No  sunbeam  enters,  and  no  zephyr  blows  ; — ■ 


MORAL  VALUE  OF  BIOGRAPHY. 


409 


He  treads,  inemulous  of  fame  or  wealth, 

Profuse  of  toil,  and  prodigal  of  health  ; 

Leads  stern-eyed  justice  to  the  dark  domains, 

]f  not  to  sever,  to  release  the  chains  ; 

Gives  to  her  babes  the  self-devoted  wife, 

To  her  fond  husband  liberty  and  life, — 

Onward  he  moves  !  disease  and  death  retire ; 

And  murmuring  demons  hate  him  and  admire. 

D.tRWIN. 

847.  Tiie  prominent  object  of  such  works,  when  prop¬ 
erly  written,  is  to  teach  men,  women,  and  children,  their 
duty  in  the  various  relations  and  circumstances  of  life,  hy 
example — the  most  persuasive  of  all  methods  of  instruc¬ 
tion. 

A  long  catalogue  of  memoirs  might  here  he  furnished 
that  are  especially  worthy  of  perusal  and  study.  The 
nineteenth  century  abounds  in  such  written  examples  of 
“  whatsoever  things  are  true,”  of  “  whatsoever  things  are 
honest,”  of  “  whatsoever  things  are  just,”  of  “  whatsoever 
things  are  pure,”  of  “  whatsoever  things  are  lovely,”  and 
of  “  whatsoever  things  are  of  good  report.” 

In  learning  our  duties  from  the  biographies  of  Scrip¬ 
ture,  great  assistance  and  entertainment  may  be  derived 
from  Robinson’s  Scripture  Characters,  and  Hunter’s  Sa¬ 
cred  Biography. 

In  no  manner  more  fitting  can  we  close  a  practical 
system  of  Moral  Philosophy — of  a  philosophy  worthy  of 
that  title — than  by  presenting  a  brief  view  of  the  morality 
of  the  Bible  as  it  is  embodied  in  the  character  and  life  of 
Jesus  Christ,  to  the  study  and  imitation  of  which  we  are 
impelled  by  tlie  strongest  of  moral  attractions,  and  by  the 
high  command  of  Heaven.  In  a  moral  sense — as  a  de¬ 
lineator  and  exemplar  of  human  duty — he  never  had,  he 
never  can  have,  a  rival.  He  is  the  light  of  the  world  ; 
and  if  we  would  learn  our  duty,  without  mistake,  it  be¬ 
hooves  us  to  walk  in  the  light  of  his  instructions,  and  of 
the  living  and  perfect  commentary  of  his  example.  We 
shall  now  present  his  character,  substantially,  as  furnish¬ 
ed  by  Bishop  Wilson  of  Calcutta,  and  Dr.  Paley. 

Moral  Duty  learned  from  the  Character  of  Jesus  Christ. 

848.  There  are,  in  the  sacred  scriptures,  several  prom¬ 
inent  aspects  of  his  lemarkable  character.  (1.)  He  occu¬ 
pies  the  place  of  mediator  between  God  and  man.  (2.) 
He  sustains  a  private  character  adorned  with  every  per- 

S 


410  MORAL  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 

sonal  excellence.  (3.)  In  his  public  character  he  appears 
as  the  Founder  of  the  Christian  Religion — the  last,  most 
perfect,  and  universal  form  of  revealed  truth. 

Passing  by  the  various  offices  sustained  by  him  as  Me¬ 
diator,  it  falls  within  our  present  plan  to  view  him  only  in 
his  private  character,  his  character  as  a  man. 

In  this  character  he  proposed  himself  as  the  pattern  and 
exemplar  of  every  human  excellence  to  his  followers.  lie 
assumed  to  embody  the  moral  precepts  of  his  religion  in 
his  own  life,  and  to  be  himself  all  that  he  required  of  his 
followers.  He  reduced  all  his  rules  to  the  oue  direction 
of  following  his  steps. 

849.  The  first  remark  is,  that  neither  as  represented 
by  his  followers,  nor  as  attacked  by  his  enemies,  is  he 
charged  with  any  personal  vice.  This  is  remarkable,  for 
some  stain  pollutes  the  morals  or  the  morality  of  every 
other  teacher,  and  of  every  other  lawgiver. 

Secondly,  in  the  histories  which  are  left  us  of  Jesus 
Christ,  although  very  short,  and  although  dealing  in  nar¬ 
rative,  and  not  in  observation  or  panegyric,  we  perceive, 
beside  the  absence  of  every  appearance  of  vice,  traces  of 
devotion,  humility,  benignity,  mildness,  patience,  pru¬ 
dence.  Traces  of  these  qualities,  we  say,  because  the 
qualities  themselves  are  to  be  collected  mostly  from  inci¬ 
dents  ;  inasmuch  as  the  terms  themselves  are  almost  never 
used  of  Christ  in  the  Gospels,  nor  is  any  formal  character 
of  him  drawn  in  any  part  of  the  New  Testament. 

850.  His  2^i^ty  (tnd  devotion  to  his  Heavenly  Father  are 
seen  in  his  frequent  retirement  for  solitary  prayer ;  in  his 
habitual  giving  of  thanks  ;  in  his  I’eference  of  the  beauties 
and  operations  of  nature  to  the  bounty  of  Providence  ; 
in  his  earnest  addresses  to  his  Father,  more  particularly 
that  short  but  solemn  one  before  the  raising  of  Lazarus 
from  the  dead ;  lu  teaching  his  disciples  a  prayei',  which, 
for  brevity,  fullness  of  meaning,  suitableness,  and  sim¬ 
plicity,  stands  unrivaled  ;  in  professing  not  to  do  his  own 
will,  but  the  will  of  his  Father,  to  accomplish  which,  he 
said,  was  his  meat  and  drink  ;  and  in  directing  every  act 
to  his  Father’s  glory. 

His  trust  in  Him  was  uniform,  strong,  apparent  on 
every  occasion.  There  was,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  a 
continued  communion  going  on  between  his  Heavenly 
Father  and  himself.  In  the  agony  of  the  garden  anil 


MORAL  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST.  411 

of  the  cross,  holy  trust,  resignation,  prayer,  love  to  his 
Heavenly  Father  sustained  him.  His  life,  in  the  proper 
sense  of  the  term,  was  a  most  pious  and  devout  life ;  and 
yet  there  was  nothing  of  the  secluded  and  austere  mixed 
with  the  devout  in  him.  It  was  precisely  a  piety  so  ex¬ 
pressed,  and  so  mingled  with  all  his  conduct,  as  to  fuinish 
a  perfect  example  to  his  followers. 

Sol,  Nothing  was  more  apparent  in  our  Lord  than 
genuine  good-will,  Jdndness,  tenderness  of  heart.  His  life 
was  not  one  of  strict  justice  merely,  but  of  overflowing 
benignity.  He  went  about  to  bless  and  console  this  sor¬ 
rowing  world. 

His  miracles  were  almost  all  acts  of  kindness  and 
beneficence — healing  all  manner  of  disease,  casting  out 
devils,  restoring  sight  to  the  blind,  and  even  raising  again 
the  dead. 

The  benignity  and  affectionateness  of  his  temper  was 
seen  in  his  treatment  of  children ;  in  the  tears  which  he 
shed  over  his  falling  country,  and  upon  the  death  of  his 
friend ;  in  his  prompt  regard  and  relief  to  the  sorrows  of 
the  widow  of  Nain,  while  she  was  following  the  dead 
body  of  her  only  son  to  the  grave,  that  son  being  at  once 
restored  to  her  alive  ;  in  his  noticing  the  widow’s  mite ; 
in  his  parables  of  the  good  Samaritan,  of  the  ungrateful 
servant,  and  of  the  Pharisee  and  Publican — of  which 
parables  no  one  but  a  man  of  humanity  could  have  been 
the  author. 

The  benevolence  of  Christ  flowed  forth  in  the  forgive¬ 
ness  of  injuries.  Not  a  single  word  of  resentment,  nor 
any  expression  of  personal  displeasure,  ever  came  out  of 
his  mouth.  He  was  daily  and  hourly  returning  good  for 
evil,  till,  on  the  cross,  he  prayed  for  the  very  wretches 
who  were  driving  the  nails  into  his  hands  and  feet — 
“Father,  forgive  them;  they  know  not  what  they  do.” 
This  prayer  for  his  enemies,  at  the  moment  of  his  suffer¬ 
ing,  though  it  has  since  been  very  properly  imitated,  was 
then,  probably,  new. 

852.  The  soft  and  gentle  spirit  of  Christ  is  everywhere 
apparent.  “  As  a  lamb  dumb  before  his  shearers,  so  he 
opened  not  his  mouth.”  Instead  of  the  ambition,  the 
susceptibility  of  affronts,  the  self-confidence,  the  personal 
importance  which  appeared  in  other  moral  teachers,  our 
Lord  was  uniformly  gentle  and  lowly. 


412  MORAL  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 


853.  A  prominent  and  noble  trait  in  the  character  of 
Jesus  was  bis  sttjieriority  to  the  ivorld — to  the  passions, 
objects,  opinions,  pleasures,  indulgences,  love  of  ease,  re¬ 
gard  to  fame,  licbes,  display,  influence,  and  praise,  which 
the  Scriptures  designate  by  the  term  world,  and  which 
have  ever  ensnared,  under  one  form  or  other,  all  merely 
human  teachers. 

In  our  Savior  we  see  nothing  of  a  worldly  spirit  ;  there 
was  no  courting  of  the  great,  no  fawning  over  the  persons 
of  the  noble,  no  haunting  the  palaces  of  kings,  no  defer¬ 
ence  to  the  authority  of  powerful  and  wicked  men,  no 
debates  about  human  politics  and  temporal  interests,  no 
desires  after  worldly  distinction  and  dominion. 

On  the  contrary,  never  was  there  so  unworldly  a  char¬ 
acter,  never  such  disinterestedness,  never  such  superiority 
to  all  the  glare,  and  bustle,  and  attraction  of  the  world 
and  worldly  glory.  He  estimated  things  as  they  really 
n-cre,  and  acted  sirnjdy  and  invariably  upon  that  estimate. 
He  was  not  of  the  world  :  he  was  of  another  spirit,  en¬ 
gaged  in  other  pursuits,  touched  by  other  interests,  bent 
on  higher  and  nobler  ends ;  and  in  no  respect  is  his  ex¬ 
ample  more  perfect  in  itself,  and  more  necessary  to  us, 
than  in  his  “  overcominst  the  world.” 

854.  Ho  was  perfect  master  of  the  inferior  ajypetites. 
His  temperance  was  pure,  elevated,  vigilant,  uniform,  and 
natural.  His  conduct  was  free  from  everything  like  ex¬ 
cess.  He  wrought  no  miracle  for  the  supply  of  his  own 
wants — we  hear  of  none  of  these  wants.  He  pities  the 
multitude,  indeed,  and  feeds  them  miraculously ;  but,  for 
himself,  he  has  not  where  to  lay  his  head.  While  he  sits 
instructing  the  Samaritan  woman,  he  accounts  that  he  has 
“  meat  to  eat  which  his  disciples  know  not  of wdiile  as 
to  them  they  are  compelled  to  go  into  the  city  to  purchase 
food.  ■ 

855.  Fortitude  and  constancy  are  conspicuous  in  all  his 
public  life — that  rjuality  of  mind  which  is  compounded  of 
courage,  patience,  and  perseverance^ — which  hnows  not 
hoio  to  yield  in  a  great  undertaking — which  is  daunted  by 
no  opposition,  and  faints  under  no  discouragement — which 
endures  contradiction,  violence,  injustice,  oppression. 

With  what  fortitude  does  he  bear  the  incessant  hostility 
and  perverseness  of  the  Jews  !  With  what  constancy 
and  boldness  does  he  arraign  the  vices,  and  hypocrisy, 


MORAL  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST.  413 

and  cruelties  of  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees !  When  did 
he  betray  any  symptoms  of  cowardice,  or  the  fear  of 
man  ?  When  did  he  flee  in  dejection  or  irresolution  1 

856.  His  prudence  and  discretion  are  discerned  where 
prudence  is  most  wanted,  in  his  conduct  upon  trying  oc¬ 
casions,  and  in  answers  to  artful  questions.  He  never 
invited  attack  by  imprudence,  nor  provoked  hostility  by 
intemperate  rashness.  When  no  good  could  be  effected 
in  one  place,  he  withdrew  to  another.  The  questions 
dictated  by  curiosity  or  craft  he  repelled  by  wisdom  : 
proposing  other  questions,  or  inculcating  a  general  doc¬ 
trine,  or  softening  reproof  by  the  veil  of  a  parable. 

The  forethought,  the  consideration  of  circumstances, 
the  adaptation  of  means  to  the  desired  end,  the  disposi¬ 
tion  of  the  several  parts  of  his  doctrine  to  their  proper 
purposes  and  to  the  class  of  his  auditory,  his  determina¬ 
tion  under  a  choice  of  difficulties,  his  address  in  defend¬ 
ing  his  disciples  when  accused,  his  apologies  before  the 
bigoted  Jews,  mai'ked  our  Lord’s  wisdom.  The  human 
heart  lay  open  before  him  ;  difficult  questions  and  sudden 
turns  only  served  to  display  his  consummate  prudence. 
He  “  did  all  things  well his  prudence  was  as  conspicu¬ 
ous  in  the  manner,  as  his  benevolence  in  the  execution  of 
his  designs. 

857.  As  additional  illustrations  of  his  prudence,  may  be 
noted,  his  withdrawing,  in  various  instances,  from  the  fii'st 
symptoms  of  tumult,  and  with  the  express  care  of  con¬ 
ducting  his  ministry  in  quietness ;  his  declining  of  every 
species  of  interference  with  the  civil  affairs  of  the  coun¬ 
try  (though  in  this  particular  he  is  not  a  model  to  us  who 
are  placed  in  different  circumstances),  as  in  the  case  of 
the  adulterous  woman,  John  viii.  1,  and  in  his  repulse  of 
the  application  made  to  him  to  interpose  his  decision 
about  a  disputed  inheritance  ;  his  judicious,  yet  as  it  would 
seem,  unprepared  answers,  in  the  case  of  the  Roman 
tribute,  in  the  difficulty  concerning  the  interfering  rela¬ 
tions  of  a  future  state,  as  proposed  to  him  in  the  instance 
of  a  woman  who  had  married  seven  brethren  ;  and,  more 
especially,  in  his  reply  to  those  who  demanded  fi'om  him 
an  explanation  of  the  authority  by  which  he  acted,  which 
reply  consisted  in  propounding  a  question  to  them,  situ¬ 
ated  between  the  very  difficulties  into  which  they  were 
insidiously  endeavoring  to  draw  him. 


414  MORAL  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 

858.  The  Savior,  in  his  daily  conduct,  united  all  the 
various  branches  of  moral  excellence,  and  exhibited  in  equal 
perfection  the  graces  and  virtues  the  most  opposite  to  each 
other,  without  the  proximate  failings,  or  any  decay  in 
vigor  and  consistency.  And  in  this  respect  our  Lord  sur¬ 
passed  all  merely  human  examples  of  virtue. 

His  virtues  were  unailoyed  with  the  kindred  failings. 
His  temperance  was  unaccompanied  with  severity ;  his 
fortitude  was  without  rashness ;  his  constancy  without 
obstinacy ;  his  self-denial  without  moroseness ;  his  devo¬ 
tion  and  piety  without  indifference  to  the  affairs  of  life. 
And  so,  on  the  other  hand,  his  benevolence  never  sunk 
into  weakness,  his  humility  into  fear  of  man,  his  love  of 
retirement  into  inactivity,  his  tenderness  into  compliance 
with  sin. 

859.  It  is  worthy  also  of  remark,  that  opposite  and  ap- 
2>arently  contradictory  graces  icere  found  in  him  in  equal 
ywojmrtion.  His  elevation  of  mind,  and  sublimity  in  the 
conception  of  divine  things,  were  connected  with  the  ut¬ 
most  ease  and  simplicity.  His  superiority  to  the  world, 
and  spirituality  of  affection,  were  equaled  by  his  affabil¬ 
ity  and  freedom  in  conversing  with  mankind.  His  tem¬ 
perance  and  fortitude  were  adorned  with  the  opposite 
graces  of  meekness  and  forbearance  ;  his  love  and  be¬ 
nignity  with  courage  and  decision  of  character;  his  com¬ 
passion  for  sinners  with  the  most  pointed  rebukes  of  the 
incorrigible  and  hypocritical. 

His  condescension  in  consorting  with  publicans  and 
sinners,  was  united  with  the  utmost  purity  and  dignity ; 
his  incessant  diligence,  with  suavity ;  his  zeal  in  the  service 
of  God  and  in  prosecuting  his  mission,  with  pi’udence  and 
discretion. 

The  active  were  thus  allied  with  the  contemplative  vir¬ 
tues,  the  sti’ong  with  the  tender,  the  heroical  with  the 
retired.  Each  virtue  was  free  from  the  opposite  defect, 
and  accompanied  with  the  opposite  excellence. 

860.  Further  than  this  ;  all  was  carried  to  the  utmost 

HEIGHT,  AND  CONTINUED  IN  ONE  EVEN  TENOR. 

Christ  had  uniformity  and  consistency  of  virtue,  in  the 
strictest  sense  ;  he  had  strength  of  character.  Power  of 
every  kind  is  less  exhibited  by  violent  efforts  of  short  du¬ 
ration,  than  by  a  steady,  unyielding  agency  and  progres¬ 
sion.  It  was  not  at  one  time,  but  at  every  time ;  not  in 


MORAL  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST.  415 

one  situation,  but  in  every  kind  of  situation  ;  not  at  the 
beginning  of  his  ministry,  merely,  but  throughout  it ;  not 
in  one  or  two  respects,  but  in  all,  that  the  virtues  of  Christ 
were  manifested. 

And  this  at  the  greatest  height  of  which  the  human 
nature  is  susceptible,  and  which  the  law  of  God  requires. 
There  is  no  flaw,  no  stain  in  our  Lord’s  character ;  not  a 
single  defect,  much  less  any  crime.  It  was  a  perfect  model 
for  our  imitation.  Christ  had  never  occasion  to  retract 
any  statement,  to  qualify  any  expression,  to  undo  anything 
he  ever  said  or  did.  No  omission,  no  slip,  no  error,  no 
misapprehension,  no  gap  or  interruption  in  the  circle  of 
human  excellences,  appeared  in  our  blessed  Savior. 

861.  The  result  of  this  combination  and  proportion  of 
excellences  was,  that  there  was  a  peculiar  harmony, 
loveliness,  and  moral  symmetry  in  our  Savior’s  personal 
character :  that  beauty  of  holiness  which  arises  from  the 
combination  and  just  proportion  of  all  the  various  elements 
of  which  it  is  composed.  Everything  was  of  a  piece ; 
everything  was  most  becoming ;  everything  was  as  it 
should  be. 

And  this  completes  the  picture.  This  shows  that  we 
have  in  our  Lord  the  perfect  model  of  every  virtue  for 
his  disciples,  both  as  it  regards  the  separate  graces  of  his 
character,  and  the  union  and  combination  of  them  in  all 
their  proportions,  strength,  and  consistency. 

862.  It  is  impossible  not  to  observe  the  suitableness 
TO  the  necessities  OF  MAN,  whicli  appears  in  the  founder 
of  Christianity  thus  becoming  our  example. 

Man  is  led  by  example  rather  than  by  precept.  He 
needed  a  Savior,  not  only  to  rescue  him  from  guilt  and 
death  by  his  merits  and  grace,  but  to  render  virtue 
lovely  and  practicable,  by  his  human  and  personal  excel¬ 
lences. 

863.  In  the  life  of  Christ,  morality  is  set  forth  in  action  ; 
it  is  embodied  ;  it  is  made  visible  to  the  mortal  eye  ;  it  is 
addressed  to  the  mortal  heart  in  the  most  attractive  and 
engaging  form.  How  essential  then  is  it,  that  the  char¬ 
acter  of  Christ  should  hold  a  prominent  place  in  a  system 
of  Moral  Philosophy,  which  is  only  a  system  of  human 
duty !  and  yet,  hitherto,  this  has  been  generally,  if  not 
universally  omitted,  or  only  introduced  and  noticed  in  the 
most  cursory  manner. 


41G  MORAL  TEACHINGS  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 

864.  There  was  much,  in  the  class  of  character  and 
station  adopted  hy  Christ,  which  was  adapted  to  our  case. 

(1.)  He  might  have  chosen  any  other,  and  been  a  per¬ 
fect  model  of  virtue  :  he  might  have  appeared — except, 
perhaps,  as  his  character  as  the  Savior  of  the  world  was 
concerned — as  a  prince,  a  teacher  of  human  or  divine 
science ;  but  such  a  life  would  not  have  been  so  easily 
imitable  by  the  great  mass  of  mankind.  He  therefore 
became  like  one  of  ourselves ;  his  life  loas  spent  in  com¬ 
mon  affairs  and  duties.  His  is  a  most  holy,  but  an  ordi¬ 
nary,  familiar,  every  day  life,  passed  in  humble  scenes  and 
usual  occurrences.  This  was  exactly  what  proud,  vain¬ 
glorious  man  needed. 

(2.)  Then  our  Lord’s  was  a  suffering  character,  and  so 
yet  further  adapted  to  be  our  pattern  in  this  world  of 
suffering.  Any  other  life  might  have  been  as  pure,  but 
it  could  not  have  bee,n  so  consolatory.  As  a  sufferer, 
his  example  is  more  frequently  applicable,  more  deeply 
meditated  on,  more  precisely  suited  to  the  condition  and 
afflictions  of  his  followers.  The  patient,  enduring  vir¬ 
tues  are  most  conspicuous  in  him,  as  they  are  most 
needed  by  us. 

(3.)  The  character  of  Christ  was  calm  and  composed. 
There  was  a  freedom  from  violent  emotions,  an  absti¬ 
nence  from  excitement  and  disturbance  throughout  it. 
His  emotions  were  chieffy  those  of  benevolence,  com¬ 
passion,  abhorrence  of  sin.  These  overpowered,  on  all 
occasions,  the  inferior  passions;  and  were  most  directly 
in  contrast  with  any  charge  of  insincerity  or  enthusiasm, 
which  his  enemies  might  otherwise  have  imputed  to  him. 
Our  Lord  is  precisely  what  he  should  be ;  he  appeared, 
and  did,  and  acted,  and  spoke,  in  every  respect,  as  the 
founder  of  such  a  religion  as  Christianity  required. 

865.  The  IMITATION  of  Jesus  Christ,  is  a  brief,  but 

COMPREHENSIVE  DEFINITION  OF  THE  DUTY,  OF  MAN  :  tO 

feel  and  act  as  he  would  feel  and  act  in  all  our  various 
circumstances,  is  the  utmost  demand  of  duty.  There  are 
duties,  indeed,  which,  from  the  very  perfection  of  his 
character,  were  not  exemplified  formally  in  him — the 
duties  of  repentance,  and  of  faith  in  a  Redeemer;  for  he 
never  sinned,  and,  therefore,  never  needed  an  atone¬ 
ment  :  but  these  are,  nevertheless,  to  be  regarded  as  only 
modifications  of  the  genuine  principle  of  love  to  God  and 


MORAL  VALUE  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST.  417 

to  his  law,  which  appeared  so  perfectly  in  Jesus.  An 
imitation,  therefore,  of  this  genuine  principle,  which  ap¬ 
peared  in  him,  will  necessarily  produce  penitence  and 
faith,  in  those  who  have  offended  God  and  transgressed 
his  law. 

The  grand  duty  of  men,  therefore,  is  to  imitate  Jesus 
Christ,  in  all  his  personal  and  human  excellences ;  and, 
consequently,  to  point  out  in  what  such  imitation  con¬ 
sists,  is,  and  ought  to  be,  a  part  of  a  full  system  of  Moral 
Philosophy.  Hence  it  occupies  so  prominent  a  place  in 
this  treatise ;  and  will,  it  is  hoped,  be  studied  with  more 
care,  and  practiced  with  more  assiduity,  than  any  other 
portion  of  it. 

866.  The  Christian  philosophy  found  in  the  Bible,  takes 
a  still  higher  aim,  and  a  more  comprehensive  range.  By 
means  of  its  doctrines  and  facts,  its  promises  and  admo¬ 
nitions,  its  precepts  and  sanctions,  as  well  as  its  incom¬ 
parable  biographies,  it  not  only  expounds  moral  duties, 
but  arrays  before  us  the  most  powerful  motives  to  he,  and 
to  do,  what  duty  to  God,  to  man,  and  to  ourselves,  requires. 
Moral  Philosophy  assumes  the  humbler  province  of  de¬ 
fining  the  duties  of  man,  and  offering  the  grounds  upon 
which  they  rest,  and  perhaps,  also,  the  motives  existing 
for  the  prompt  performance  of  those  duties. 

To  give  their  just  weight  to  the  statements  made  re¬ 
specting  the  duty  of  imitating  Jesus  Christ,  it  is  a  matter 
of  some  moment  to  contrast  the  character  op  Christ 
WITH  THAT  OF  ALL  OTHERS,  who  have  assumed  to  be 
founders  of  a  new  religion. 

867.  “  We  assert,”  says  Bishop  Wilson,  “  that  there 
never  was  any  religion  but  the  Christian,  which  ex¬ 
hibited,  in  the  person  of  its  founder,  a  spotless  model  for 
his  disciples  to  follow.  We  assert  there  never  was  any 
religion  but  the  Christian,  in  which  its  author  united  ex¬ 
cellence  of  example  with  purity  of  precept.  We  assert 
there  never  was  any  religion  but  the  Christian,  which 
professed  to  sum  up  all  morality  in  the  example  of  its 
legislator,  and  combined  in  it  all  the  purest  precepts,  and 
the  most  lovely  sentiments  of  moral  excellence. 

“I  look  around  for  the  founder  of  a  religion  with 
whom  I  may  compare  Jesus  Christ.  I  see  the  masters 
of  the  philosophic  sects  ;  I  see  the  orators  and  respected 
sages  of  Greece  and  Rome :  all  is  impure  and  debased. 

s* 


418  MORAL  VALUE  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST. 

I  see  Zeno,  and  Socrates,  and  Diogenes,  and  Epictetus, 
and  Plato,  and  Aristotle ;  I  see  Cicero,  and  Xenophon, 
and  the  Catos,  and  Seneca :  inconsistency,  vanity,  prof¬ 
ligacy,  folly,  cowardice,  revenge,  idolatry,  obscure  the 
fame  of  all.  I  can  discern  no  perfectly  pure  and  un¬ 
stained  character;  I  can  select  no  model  for  the  imitation 
of  mankind. 

“And  then,  I  object  to  all  these  names:  not  one  is  the 
founder  of  a  religion.  They  were  philosophers,  discours¬ 
ing  in  their  petty  academies ;  not  authors  of  a  system  of 
religion,  claiming  the  inspiration  of  heaven,  and  profess¬ 
ing  to  effect  the  spiritual  deliverance  of  mankind.  What 
1  look  for,  is  the  founder  of  a  religious  faith — inde¬ 
pendent,  new,  authoritative,  ostensible. 

“  The  votaries  of  Polytheism,  with  the  fables  entwined 
around  their  histories,  come  not  up  to  my  demand  ;  and 
if  they  did,  would  only  excite  disgust,  by  their  avowed 
profligacy,  cmelty,  and  sordid  covetousness.  I  want  still 
the  promulgator  of  a  revelation  from  heaven. 

“  At  length,  I  descry  one  arising  obscurely  in  the  east¬ 
ern  regions  of  Christendom,  at  a  time  when  its  primitive 
faith  was  peculiarly  corrupted  and  debased.  I  see  Mo¬ 
hammed  APPEAR.  I  obtain  what  I  required  ;  I  compare 
his  claims ;  I  ask,  what  were  his  professions  'I  what  his 
personal  character'?  what  his  promises  to  his  followers] 
what  the  spirit  he  breathed]  what  the  example  he  set  ]  I 
have  not  long  to  wait  for  a  reply.  The  case  speaks  for  itself. 

“  I  see  him  indulge  in  the  gi'ossest  vices ;  I  see  him 
transgressing  perpetually  even  the  licentious  rules  which 
he  had  prescribed  to  himself ;  I  hear  him  lay  claim  to  a 
special  commission  from  heaven  to  riot  in  the  most  un¬ 
limited  sensuality.  This  is  more  than  enough  for  my 
argument. 

“  But  I  look  again :  I  see  him  violent,  rapacious,  im¬ 
petuous,  sanguinary;  [  see  him  pay  court  to  the  peculiar 
vices  of  the  people  among  whom  he  wished  to  propagate 
his  doctrine ;  I  see  him  promise,  as  the  reward  of  his 
followers,  a  voluptuous  paradise,  where  the  objects  of 
their  base  affections  were  to  be  almost  innumerable, 
gifted  with  transcendent  beauty  and  eternal  youth.  I 
can  examine  no  further. 

“  From  a  character  so  base,  I  turn  to  the  holy  Jesus; 

I  contrast — but  I  pause.  I  cannot  insult  your  feelings 


MORAL  VALUE  OF  THE  LIFE  OF  CHRIST.  419 


by  comparing  all  the  points  of  ineffable  purity  and  love¬ 
liness  in  the  founder  of  Christianity,  with  the  compound 
of  sensuality,  pride,  and  cruelty,  in  the  eastern  impostor. 
You  feel  how  the  presumption  of  the  truth  of  our  religion 
is  heightened,  inconceivably  heightened,  by  the  contrast 
in  the  only  case  at  all  similar,  found  in  the  lapse  of  ages.” 

This  argument  has  been  admirably  touched  by  Bishop 
Sherlock  also,  but  we  have  not  space  to  insert  it;  but 
those  who  wmuld  see  it  may  consult  Wilson’s  Evidences 
of  Christianity,  vol.  ii.  p.  104. 

Again,  we  ask,  must  not  a  Moral  Philosophy  be  very 
defective  that  leaves  out  of  view,  or  makes  no  particular 
and  practical  use  of,  the  pure  morality  of  the  character 
and  life  of  Jesus  Christ  1  Must  not  the  students  of  this 
most  important  of  all  sciences,  through  this  defect,  have 
labored  under  a  great  disadvantage,  if  not  in  ascertaining 
the  exact  path  of  their  duty,  at  least  in  possessing  one  of 
the  most  attractive  and  perfect  guides  in  the  pursuit  of 
that  path  1  And  will  not  those  who  study  this  system  of 
Moral  Philosophy,  which  supplies  the  defect  alluded  to, 
be  induced  to  study  the  morality  of  the  inspired  biography 
of  Jesus,  and  extend  their  researches  into  the  biography 
of  many  others,  who  have  imbibed  his  spirit,  have  felt 
deeply  the  influence  of  his  religion,  and  have  done  much, 
by  a  blameless  and  useful  course,  to  spread  that  religion 
in  the  world  ? 


As  we  have  drawn  so  largely  upon  the  sacred  scrip¬ 
tures  for  rules  and  examples  of  moral  duty,  it  seems  to 
accord  with  the  practical  object  of  the  work  to  conclude 
with  a  brief  account,  by  Bishop  Wilson,  of  the  tendency 
of  the  Christian  revelation  to  promote,  in  the  highest  de¬ 
gree,  human  happiness. 


843.  In  the  preceding  portions  of  this  work,  from  what  sources  have  the 
duties  of  man  been  drawn  ? 

844.  What  other  source  of  instruction  in  human  duty  may  be  conve¬ 
niently  and  profitably  resorted  to  ? 

845.  Where  is  such  biography  to  be  found  ? 

846.  In  this  class  of  writings,  what  characters  most  deserve  our  study 
and  imitation  ? 

847.  What  is,  or  should  be,  the  great  purpose  of  biographical  works  ? 

848.  In  how  many  prominent  aspects  is  Christ’s  character  presented  to 
us  in  the  sacred  scriptures  T 

849.  What  preliminary  remarks  has  Paley,  in  his  Evidences,  made  con¬ 
cerning  the  character  of  Christ  ? 


420 


TENDENCY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


850.  Wherein  do  we  discover  his  piety,  and  devotion  to  his  Heavenly 
Father  ? 

851.  Wherein  do  we  discover  his  benevolence  and  compassion  toward 
man  ? 

852.  What  do  we  learn  from  Christ,  in  the  practice  of  meekness  and 
lowliness  of  spirit  ? 

853.  What  aid  does  his  example  furnish,  with  respect  to  a  superiority 
to  the  world  ? 

854.  What  do  the  Scriptures  inform  us  concerning  his  strict  temper¬ 
ance  and  command  of  the  inferior  appetites  ? 

855.  Does  the  biography  of  Christ  furnish  an  example  of  fortitude  and 
constancy  1 

856.  Was  his  conduct  marked  by  prudence  and  discretion? 

857.  What  further  illustrations  of  his  prudence  may  be  mentioned  ? 

858.  Having  now  considered  the  separate  graces  of  our  Savior’s  per¬ 
sonal  character,  what  observation  may  be  made  respecting  the  union  of 
them  in  his  most  perfect  life  ? 

859.  Not  only  so;  were  not  the  opposite  and  apparently  contradictory 
graces  found  in  him  in  equal  proportion  1 

860.  What  is  further  to  be  observed  in  the  character  of  Jesus  Christ? 

861.  What  was  the  result  of  this  combination  and  proportion  of  excel¬ 
lences  ? 

862.  863.  What  other  observations  upon  the  example  of  Christ  deserve 
our  notice? 

864.  What  was  there  in  the  class  of  character  and  station  which  Christ 
occupied,  adapted  to  our  case  ? 

865.  In  view,  then,  of  all  these  distinguishing  peculiarities  of  the  char¬ 
acter  of  Jesus  Christ,  what  comprehensive  definition  of  human  duty  may 
be  produced  ? 

866.  Christian,  as  distinguished  from  moral  philosophy? 

867.  In  what  eloquent  terms  has  this  contrast  between  the  character  of 
Christ,  and  that  of  other  founders  of  religion,  been  drawn  by  the  pen  of 
Bishop  Wilson? 


CHAPTER  VI. 

TENDENCY  OF  REVELATION  TO  PROMOTE  HUMAN 
HAPPINESS. 

868.  There  i.s  a  genuine,  strong,  essential  tendency  in 
every  part  of  Christianity  to  elevate  man,  to  deliver  him 
from  intellectual  and  moral  bondage,  to  fill  his  mind  with 
truth,  and  purity,  and  love  ;  to  engage  him  in  the  pursuit 
of  the  highest  object,  and  aid  him  in  following  it. 

869.  It  is  susceptible  of  easy  proof  that  man  wants 
something  more  than  mere  reason,  or  moral  virtue,  or 
the  light  of  nature.  He  requires  a  way  of  forgiveness,  a 
spring  of  new  life  and  strength  for  obedience,  a  clear 
revelation  of  immortality.  If  reason  and  its  kindred 
powers  are  allowed  to  have  a  tendency  toward  human 
happiness,  how  much  more  has  Christianity  that  bearing. 


TENDENCY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


421 


which  embraces  all,  and  more  than  all,  that  conscience 
and  tradition  ever  taught,  and  which  superadds  a  pecu¬ 
liar  method  of  redemption  of  its  own,  by  the  Son  and 
Spirit  of  God  'I 

Christianity,  indeed,  is,  reason  purified,  virtue  exalt¬ 
ed  AND  RENDERED  PRACTICAL,  NATURAL  RELIGION  SUS¬ 
TAINED  BY  REDEMPTION.  When  Christianity  triumphs, 
it  is  the  victory  of  the  highest  reason,  of  the  loftiest  vir¬ 
tue  and  religion. 

Christianity  appears  only  as  the  minister  of  truth,  the 
assuager  of  human  woe,  the  teacher  of  good  things ;  the 
enemy  of  all  that  is  unjust,  cruel,  impure;  the  friend  of 
all  that  is  right,  chaste,  benevolent ;  the  child  of  heaven, 
and  the  preparer  for  its  joys. 

The  Bearing  of  Christianity  as  to  Nations. 

870.  What  are  nations  but  masses  of  individuals  ? 
What  is  social,  but  the  multiplication  of  personal  happi¬ 
ness  1  It  is  quite  obvious,  then,  that  if  Christianity  takes 
the  direction  of  personal  happiness,  it  promotes,  also,  na¬ 
tional  and  universal. 

871.  It  supplies  the  defects  of  human  laws.  It  is  seated 
in  the  conscience,  it  interposes  a  divine  tribunal,  it  goes 
to  the  principle  of  obedience,  it  restrains  not  by  fear  of 
punishment  merely,  but  by  the  desire  (which  it  produces) 
to  please  God  and  benefit  our  fellow-creatures.  What 
are  oaths  without  Christianity  as  their  basis  1  What  are 
human  statutes,  without  the  authority  of  the  Supreme 
Legislator  I 

872.  Again  :  Christianity  goes  to  suhdue  the  selfishness 
of  man,  and  to  implant  that  regard  for  the  welfare  of 
others  which  is  the  spring  of  genuine  patriotism  and  de¬ 
votion  to  the  good  of  our  country.  And  what  must  be 
the  beneficent  working  of  that  religion  whose  main  object 
is  to  prevent  the  selfish  exercise  of  the  passions ! 

873.  And  why  need  we  further  speak  of  the  hearings 
of  the  charity  of  Christianity,  of  its  spirit  of  beneficence, 
its  forgiveness  of  injuries,  its  delight  in  communicating 
good,  its  genuine,  diffusive,  heartfelt  sympathy  ]  Must  not 
all  this  go  to  the  cementing  together  of  the  society  of  man¬ 
kind,  and  the  rendering  of  nations  one  great  and  united 
family  1 

And  what  is  the  tendency  of  all  the  Christian  precepts  ? — 


422 


TENDENCY  OF  THE  BIBLE. 


of  its  relative  duties,  its  rules  for  the  lowest  and  highest 
stations  in  society  ? — of  the  commands  which  restrain, 
animate,  and  direct  every  class  of  persons  in  a  state  1 — 
the  injunctions  which  go  to  extinguish  the  causes  of  dis¬ 
union,  turbulence,  sedition,  war  ] 

874.  Again:  how  can  we  speak  adequately  of  the  in¬ 
direct  TENDENCY  of  the  Gospel  to  advance  the  temporal 
and  spiritual  welfare  of  nations  It  indirectly  works 
upon  thousands  whom  it  never  persuades  to  receive  its 
yoke.  It  operates  by  the  medium'of  others.  It  raises 
the  standard  of  morals.  It  induces  large  bodies  of  men 
to  imitate,  in  various  respects,  the  conduct  of  its  genu¬ 
ine  disciples.  Each  Christian  is  a  center  of  influence,  in 
which  his  example  and  instructions  are  continually  opera- 

875.  Thus,  by  degrees,  public  opinion  begins  to  work; 
and  as  this  spreads,  it  reaches  magistrates,  it  sways  the 
minds  of  legislators,  it  opens  the  ears  of  princes,  it  leads 
them  to  the  encouragement  and  support  of  revealed  reli¬ 
gion  ;  and  thus  it  brings  down  that  blessing  upon  states 
which  is  the  spring  of  real  prosperity. 

As  public  opinion  is  elevated,  and  magistrates  and  legis¬ 
lators  are  swayed  by  its  dictates,  the  spirit  of  improve¬ 
ment  grows ;  one  evil  after  another  is  detected ;  institu¬ 
tions  in  harmony  with  Christian  benevolence  arise  ;  habits 
and  practices  of  a  contrary  nature  drop  off;  all  becomes 
more  pui'e  in  domestic  life,  more  paternal  in  government, 
more  pacific  and  secure  in  public  council.  In  short,  the 
tendency  of  Christianity  is  to  raise  up  man  from  the  depths 
of  degradation  and  misery  ;  to  bless  him  in  every  relation 
of  life — as  a  subject  of  civil  society,  as  a  member  of  the 
domestic  circle,  as  a  reasonable  and  accountable  creature, 
as  an  heir  of  immortality. 

876.  With  great  unanimity  all  competent  judges,  in¬ 
cluding  adversaries,  admit,  that  the  result,  if  the  Christian 
religion  were  acted  upon  hy  all  mankind,  would  be  an  un¬ 
exampled  degree  of  general  happiness.  Men  of  all  char¬ 
acters,  even  unbelievers  themselves,  if  we  except  a  few 
of  the  very  grossest ;  statesmen  and  legislators  of  all  ages 
since  the  promulgation  of  the  Gospel ;  philosophers  and 
moralists  of  almost  every  school — unite  in  their  admissions 
of  the  excellent  tendency  of  the  Christian  religion.  Many 
of  them  are  ignorant  of  its  true  principles,  yet  they  allow. 


TENDENCY  OF  OTHER  MORAL  SYSTEMS.  423 

with  one  consent,  its  beneficial  tendency  upon  states  and 
kingdoms — they  would  have  all  men  Christians  from  mere 
regard  to  the  peace  of  the  world  ;  they  admit  that  if  man¬ 
kind  were  under  its  practical  guidance,  the  earth  would 
present  a  scene  of  happiness,  such  as  has  never  yet  been 
witnessed  or  conceived  of. 

877.  Of  any  other  religion,  or  pretended  remedy  for 
human  evils,  who  that  understands  the  question  would 
honestly  wish  for  the  universal  difi’usion,  or  would  augur 
from  that  dilfusion  universal  happiness  1  Who  would 
wish  all  mankind  Epicureans,  Stoics,  Jewish  Pharisees'? 
Who  would  desire  to  see  any  form  of  Polytheism  univer¬ 
sally  prevalent  ?  Who  would  wish  the  whole  human  race 
hlohammedans  ?  Who  would  desire  infidelity  or  human 
philosophy  to  establish  itself  everywhere  as  the  sole  guide 
of  man  ?  Conscience  speaks  plainly  enough  when  such  a 
supposition  is  made.  But  who  that  knows  what  Chris¬ 
tianity  is,  but  would  most  heartily,  and  from  his  inmost 
soul,  desire  that  all  the  world  were  Christians  ?  Who 
does  not  feel  that  Christianity  is  pregnant  with  tendencies 
and  seeds  of  things,  which  want  only  a  clear  field,  to  turn 
the  world  into  a  second  Paradise  ? 


868.  The  tendency  of  Christianity  ? 

869.  Christianity  adapted  to  the  wants  of  man  ? 

870.  Such  being  the  proper  influence  of  the  Gospel  upon  individuals, 
what  is  its  bearing  as  to  nations  ? 

871.  Its  relation  to  human  laws  ? 

872.  Its  influence  upon  the  selfishness  of  man? 

873.  The  charity  of  Christianity  ? 

874.  The  indirect  influences  of  Christianity  ? 

875.  Effect  upon  public  opinion  ? 

876.  What  do  all  competent  judges,  including  adversaries,  admit  would 
be  the  result,  if  the  Christian  religion  were  acted  upon  by  mankind  ? 

877.  Of  any  other  system  of  morality  or  religion,  is  the  universal  diffu¬ 
sion  desirable  ? 


THE  END. 


M/isr 


'•'i-.'if 
•Vr  ■*.  ' 

»'  /'J-f 


^  '  •  r Iiji'iij'ick  [.0, 
ir  r*'  [  -•''  !•■' «‘ 

«-k 

7  *,J^  .  ' 


r 

I  ,» 


-  VP' 

,  _  -u '!’f  ,  •  / 

i  ^^,*..4 
I. .  r  '•'■•yi 
V  ,  jif 

•  i  *»  I  *^T, 

* '>>  •  GnMcrtif 

*  ■.;  '.  ‘•i*'-  .» 

>1  ij’  •  .  ■:  ■■(,')  A.', 

il.t  •  •■*  '/■*.%> Vl'-’j'  H-M.- <».'.»<  .  )  •!.  Ii: 

'  ‘  >;.-  '.i-s  •■•■’/,./'*■  *.;■ 

■»  WtlW7.  t4V/  .  1  -<  ,i-.  ffj-  ■  -  .  '  i  i 


‘S'ji  rn'-j^:  »i  i_.  I 


r  ■■■-  ‘  '  f- ,  <1  ■  .  '  - 

'wnyoi^ytm.i,  (il  .  . ..'  .  .r;.- . 

(?'.  ro;\  ,.i  •  i  -  ■ 

•>.  ,  X'.'-.  ,  ■;  .'  >  '  ‘  :.i  '  .  '  _ 

•  i;  *  I:  h;  .'/r..  ;a.  ■«vf»  .yl'  •■* 

r  .  ik'  s  ••:  .,• 

'*<>.  V'  i{  '(I  "''  •.^•‘■;  ,/■  >,*,  .  •) 

^  "  ■'''  ■•  ’i}'  t»"  ..'  1  :  ■.•!  1 

.  .I'  •,  !*’ Vf  I  is.'.r  ^  4». ‘w;.  ■  ^ 

*  ■'  ■  'i  •  -i  ■  ••  ’»  uw  i 

•  .  ‘ ^  .  ,  .. .  . ,  _ _ 


'1 


1  ,i!f{  l  «J  » 


*f  \  I  ■  1 

‘V  . 


«  T  4*  ' 


Jl 


li 


>  -1 V  : 

.  1  '-*f  O  ^  fc*  .•  A-f  U<t<» 

'  »■.  ■  ',,1.  -vit 


•  H  '  I  ‘  c’ 

^  •  ■.  '•*'  •  • 
'  ,  •  ,  •  ■  ’  »  .  ’i  . 


.  -t-;-  *V'  'V, 


■m\t  .  ,  . 


t 


■I 


TESTIMONIALS. 


From  Rev.  Peter  Bullions,  D.D.,  Professor  of  Ancient  Languages  in  Albany 
Academy,  and  author  of  a  series  of  Grammars  and  Classical  W^orks. 

BOYD’S  MORAL  PHILOSOPHY. 

The  Rev.  James  R.  Boyd,  Principal  of  the  Jefferson  County  Institute, 
and  author  of  a  work  on  Rhetoric  already  well  received,  has  conferred 
another  important  benefit  on  the  cause  of  sound  learning  by  the  prepara¬ 
tion  of  this  book.  In  no  branch  of  education,  perhaps,  was  a  good  text¬ 
book  for  schools  more  needed  than  in  this.  The  work  of  Paley,  though 
possessing  many  excellences,  is  acknowledged  to  be  not  only  defective, 
but,  on  some  important  principles,  radically  unsound  ;  while  that  of  Way- 
land,  greatly  defective  in  respect  of  illustration,  is  for  that  reason  suited 
only  to  those  teachers  who  have  the  time  and  the  ability  necessary  to 
supply  these  orally  in  the  time  of  teaching.  Mr.  Boyd  proposes  to  remedy 
these  evils,  and,  by  a  free  and  judicious,  but  not  servile  use  of  the  ample 
materials  to  be  found  in  standard  writers  on  this  subject  at  home  and 
abroad,  to  furnish,  on  a  solid  basis,  a  work,  the  study  of  which  shall  serve 
not  only  to  cultivate  the  intellectual  powers,  but  “  to  mend  the  heart.” 

For  such  a  task  Mr.  Boyd  is  well  qualified  by  his  talents  and  education, 
and  still  more  by  his  long  experience  as  a  successful  instructor,  and  I 
have  no  doubt  his  work  will  prove  an  important  auxiliary,  both  to  teachers 
and  students,  in  this  branch  of  study. 

P.  Bullions, 

Professor  of  Languages,  Albany  Academy. 


From  J.  N.  Wyckoff,  D.D.,  Pastor  of  the  Second  Dutch  Church,  Albany,  and 
Trustee  of  the  Albany  Male  and  Female  Academies. 

Mr.  Boyd  has  done  me  the  favor  to  submit  to  my  inspection  the  plan 
or  synopsis  of  a  work  on  Moral  Philosophy,  compiled  from  all  the  best 
authors  extant,  amplified  by  his  own  reflection  and  study,  after  years  of 
review  in  the  duties  of  an  instructor,  and  particularly  adapted  to  the  ne¬ 
cessities  of  those  who  require  instruction  in  the  science.  Strongly  sym¬ 
pathizing  in  the  difficulties  this  work  is  intended  to  obviate,  1  hail  it  a.s 
most  opportune,  and  judge  it  to  be  well  adapted  in  the  details  of  its  plan, 
by  the  absence  of  technical  phraseology  and  by  other  simplifications,  to 
the  intended  purpose. 

J.  N.  Wyckoff, 

Pastor  of  the  Second  Dutch  Church,  Albany. 


TESTIMONIALS. 


From  T.  Romeyn  Beck,  LL.D.,  Principal  of  the  Albany  Academy. 

Albany,  August  19,  1846. 

The  Rev.  James  R.  Boyd  has  read  to  me  the  preface  of  a  work  on  Moral 
Pliilosophy,  which  he  is  about  publishing  for  the  use  of  academies  and 
common  schools,  and  has  also  given  me  an  account  of  its  contents.  From 
my  previous  acquaintance  with  the  literary  qualihcations  of  .Mr.  Boyd, 
and  with  the  work  on  Rhetoric  of  which  he  is  the  author,  I  have  no  doubt 
that  the  present  one  will  be  well  executed,  and  that  it  will  be  worthy  of 
introduction  in  our  schools  and  other  institutions  of  learning. 

I  also  entertain  the  idea  that  a  work  on  the  plan  of  Mr.  Boyd’s  is  needed 
for  the  purposes  of  instruction. 

T.  Romeyn  Beck. 


From  Rev.  J.  N.  Campbell,  D.D.,  Pastor  of  the  First  Presbyterian  Church, 
Albany,  and  Trustee  of  Albany  Alale  and  Female  Academies. 

Albany,  August  14,  1846 

It  will  not  be  questioned,  I  suppose,  by  any  one,  that  such  a  work  as 
Rev.  Mr.  Boyd  proposes  to  publish  is  very  greatly  needed  for  the  use  of 
our  high-schools  and  academies.  The  plan  of  the  work,  so  far  as  I  have 
been  able  to  examine  it,  appears  to  me  to  be  well  arranged  and  adapted  to 
the  end  he  has  in  view  ;  and  from  what  1  know  of  Mr.  Boyd,  I  judge  that 
he  is  quite  competent  to  execute  it. 

J.  N.  Campbell. 


From  S.  S.  Randall,  Esq.,  Deputy  Superintendent  of  Common  Schools,  Editor 
of  the  District- School  Journal,  tfc. 

Albany,  August  17,  1846. 

Having  been  favored  with  a  perusal  of  the  introduction  to,  and  table  of 
contents  of,  an  elementary  treatise  on  Moral  Philosophy,  proposed  to  be 
published  by  J.  R.  Boyd,  A.M.,  Principal  of  Jefferson  County  Institute,  I 
am  free  to  express  my  general  approbation  of  the  plan  and  design  of  the 
work,  and  my  conviction  that  it  is  well  calculated  to  fill  that  place  in  the 
course  of  elementary  instruction  in  our  academies  and  other  institutions 
of  learning  for  which  it  is  intended  by  the  author.  In  a  work  of  this  de¬ 
scription,  embracing  within  its  range  the  entire  field  of  Christian  ethics, 
and  social  as  well  as  individual  morality,  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  avoid 
an  occasional  excursion  upon  debatable  and  controverted  ground  ;  but  I 
am  not  aware  that  the  present  work  is  liable  to  more  serious  objections 
on  this  ground  than  most  of  its  predecessors  in  this  important  branch  of 
mental  and  moral  science;  and  the  attractive,  discriminating,  and  practi¬ 
cal  manner  in  which  the  cardinal  virtues  of  humanity  are  recommended 
and  enforced  throughout  the  greater  portion  of  the  work  amply  compen¬ 
sate,  in  my  judgment,  for  any  defects  which  may  be  supposed  to  arise 
from  the  temperate  assertion  and  maintenance  of  a  few  principles  upon 
which  an  honest  difference  of  opinion  prevails  in  our  communities.  The 
general  scope  and  tenor  of  the  work  is  eminently  calculated  to  expand, 
elevate,  and  purify  the  affections  and  the  heart — to  enlighten  and  strength¬ 
en  the  intellect,  and  diffuse  among  the  rising  generation  the  seeds  of 
ruth,  goodness,  and  virtue. 

S.  S.  Randall, 

Dep.  Supt.  of  Common  Schools,  Ed.  Dtst.  School  Journal,  <fc. 


TESTIMONIALS. 


From  L.  S.  Parsons,  Esq.,  Principal  of  Albany  Female  Academy. 

Female  Academy,  Albany,  August  17,  1846. 

De.^r  Sir, 

Having  examined  with  some  care  the  manuscript  sheets  submitted  to 
rne,  giving  the  table  of  contents  and  design  of  your  new  work,  entitled 
“  Eclectic  Moral  Philosophy,”  I  am  happy  to  say  that  I  am  much  pleased 
with  the  matter  and  manner  of  arrangement.  The  authors  from  whom 
you  have  principally  drawn  are,  undoubtedly,  the  most  safe  and  interest¬ 
ing  of  all  those  who  have  written  on  moral  subjects. 

I  will  only  add,  that,  in  common  with  other  teachers,  I  have  long  felt 
the  need  of  some  text-book  on  “  morals”  better  adapted  to  the  wants  of 
academic  instructors  and  pupils  than  either  of  those  now  in  general  use, 
viz.,  Paley  and  '\Vayla7id,  and  1  am  not  sorry  that  the  business  of  furnish¬ 
ing  such  a  work  has  fallen  into  your  hands. 

With  great  respect,  I  am  truly  yours, 

L.  S.  Parsons, 

Principal  of  the  A.  F.  Academy. 

Rev.  J.  R.  Boyd. 


.  iVJ- 


•  '  '■■■•■■  ''  '\v 

..  vK-dv  4-  <nK.  -  U  J[  *  V 

"k  .  >  1  %  tM 

•  •  4  •  , 

,  •  ••►***--•»  I 

•  ••  .  I  .  ..  .  r 


•V 


'■■  *  ‘■••'■■■'’t  ■  ■-  •  ">'■  'i  ••/  -..  „ 

■■  'vWiv-dr’rvM  I  s 
* 

.  '*■  •  't  ',v  ■'  . 

••  *  'd  ,r.  ,  f 


.I-l-.d  '■ 


I  i.  t.-  ,;.• 

.  '/*•  •'T'  /•.-  ^  '  •  '  • 


a  ,i  -  y. 


•  - 

■  •  .*N  •  '  ^ 


,  /  ... 


■•'•-'■  .  (  »  - 


'  --'  ■  :  .‘U 


i'l  V, 


V  YX'J 


I  *.V' 

i  ■«* 


•-  -'vSr- 

.  -  »  1. 


4cvn  ^  ‘ ? 


I  « 1  , 

»  V  ’  •<  -  I 


fct* 


VALUABLE  STANDARD  WORKS 

IX  THE  SEVERAL  DEPARTMEXTS  OF  LITERATURE, 

PUBLISHED  BY 

lijarTJer  Brothers,  Brio  ^orh. 

— — — -  -  — 

Agriculture,  Domestic  Dconomy,  &^c. 

ARMSTRONG’S  TREATISE  ok  AGRICULTURE  :  edited  by  Buel,  50  eta. 
BEECHER’S  (Miss  C.  E.)  DOMESTIC  ECONOMY,  75  cents. 

- - HOUSEKEEPER’S  RECEIPT-BOOK,  75  cents. 

BROWNE’S  TREES  OF  AMERICA.  $5  00. 

BUEL’S  (.Iesse)  FARMER’S  INSTRUCTOR,  $I  00. 

- FARMER’S  COMPANION. 

CHAPTAL’S  CHEMISTRY  APPLIED  TO  AGRICULTURE,  50  cents. 
COCK’S  AMERICAN  POULTRY  BOOK,  35  cents. 

GARDNER’S  FARMER'S  DICTIONARY.  Engravings,  $I  50. 
GAYLORD  AND  TUCKER’S  AMERICAN  HUSBANDRY,  $1  00. 
KITCHINER’S  COOK’S  ORACLE  AND  HOUSEKEEPER’S  MANUAL, 
87^  cents. 

MORRELL’S  AMERICAN  SHEPPIERD.  Plates.  Paper,  75  cents.  Mus¬ 
lin,  90  cents. 

PARKES’S  DOMESTIC  DUTIES,  FOR  MARRIED  LADIES,  75  cents. 
SMITH’S  (Mrs.)  MODERN  AMERICAN  COOKERY,  40  cents. 
WEBSTER  AND  PARKES’S  ENCYCLOPEDIA  of  DOMESTIC  ECON- 
OMY.  Nearly  1000  Engravings.  Muslin,  $3  50.  Sheep  extra,  $3  75. 


Biblical  and  Theological. 

ABERCROMBIE’S  MISCELLANEOUS  ESSAYS.  37i  cents. 

BAIRD’S  (Dr.)  VIEW  OF  RELIGION  IN  AMERICA"  62*  cents. 
BARNES’S  (Albert)  NOTES  ON  THE  NEW  TESTA"MENT,  9  vols., 
each  volume  sold  separately,  75  cents. 

Questions  on  the  above,  6  vols.,  each  15  cents. 

BELL’S  (Sir  Charles)  MECHANISM  OF  THE  HAND,  60  cents. 
BIBLICAL  LEGENDS  OF  THE  MUSSULMANS,  50  cents. 

BI.AIR’S  SERMONS,  ,$1  50. 

BONNECHOSE’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  EARLY  REFORMERS,  40  cents 
BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER,  corrected  Standard  Edition,  in  about  30 
varieties  of  size  and  binding. 

BROWN’S  DICTIONARY  OF  THE  HOLY  BIBLE,  $1  75. 

- POCKET  CONCORDANCE  to  the  HOLY  BIBLE,  37J  cents. 

BUNYAN’S  PILGRIM’S  PROGRESS,  75  cents. 

BUTLER’S  ANALOGY  OF  NATURAL  AND  REVEALED  RELIGION, 
35  cents* 

CHALMERS  ON  THE  POWER,  WISDOM,  AND  GOODNESS  OF  GOD 
IN  THE  Creation,  60  cents. 

CHURCH  (the)  independent  OF  THE  STATE,  90  cents. 

COLTON  ON  THE  RELIGIOUS  STATE  OF  THE  COUNTRY,  60 cents. 
COMFORTER  (the)  ;  OR,  CONSOLATIONS  FOR  MOURNERS,  45  cts 
D’AIIBIGNE’S  DISCOURSES  AND  ESSAYS,  75  cents. 

DAYS  (the)  of  queen  MARY,  25  cents. 

DICK’S  SIDEREAL  HEAVENS,  45  cents. 

- CELESTIAL  SCENERY  ;  OR,  PLANET.4.RY  SYSTEM,  45  cts. 

DWIGHT’S  (Rev.  Dr.)  THEOLOGY  EXPLAINED  AND  DEFENDED, 
4  vols.,  8vo,  $6  00. 

GLEIG’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE,  2  vols.,  80  cents. 

HALL’S  (Rev.  Robert)  COMPLETE  WORKS.  4  vols.,  $6  00. 

HAWKS’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 
IN  Virginia,  $1  75. 


3 


VALUABLE  NEW  AND  STANDARD  WORKS 


HOLY  COAT  (THE)  OF  TREVES,  37A  cents. 

HUNTER’S  BIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  PA'TRIARCIIS,  THE  SAVIOR,  &C., 
$  I  75. 

ILLUMINATED  AND  PICTORIAL  BIBLE,  1600  Engravings,  $22  50. 
JARVIS’S  (Rev.  S.  F.)  CHRONOLOGICAL  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE 
Histoky  of  the  Church,  $3  00. 

JAY’S  (Rev.  William)  COMPLETE  WORKS,  3  vols.,  $5  00. 

KEITH’S  LAND  OF  ISRAEL,  $1  25. 

- DEMONSTRATION  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  $1  37^. 

- ON  THE  PROPHECIES,  60  cents. 

LE  BAS’S  LIFfi  OF  WICLIF,  50  cents. 

- LIFE  OF  ARCHBISHOP  CRANMER,  $I  00. 

MALAN.  “  CAN  I  JOIN  THE  CHURCH  OF  ROME  WHILE  MY  RULE 
OF  Faith  IS  THE  Bible  25  cents. 

MASON'S  ZION’S  SONGSTER,  25  cents. 

M-ILVAINE’S  (Bishop)  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  ,$1  00. 

- ON  THE  DANGERS  OF  THE  CHURCH,  10  cts 

MILMAN’S  (Rev.  II.  H.)  HISTORY  OF  THE  JEWS,  3  vols.,  $1  20. 

- HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  $I  90. 

MOSHEIM’S  ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY,  by  Murdock,  $7  50. 

The  same  Work,  by  Maclaine,  $3  50, 

NEAL’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  PURITANS,  2  vols.,  $3  50. 

PALEY’S  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  37^  cents. 

- NATURAL  THEOLOGY:  edited  by  Brougham,  90  cents. 

PARKER’S  (Rev.  J.)  INVITATIONS  TO  TRUE  HAPPINESS,  374  cents 
PISE’S  (Rev.  Dr.)  LETTERS  TO  ADA,  45  cents. 

PRIDEAUX’S  CONNECTION  OF  THE  OLD  AND  NEW  TESTA¬ 
MENTS,  $3  75. 

PROTESTANT  JESIimSM,  by  a  Protestant,  90  cents. 

SANDFORD’S  (Rev.  P.  P.)  HELP  TO  FAITH,  75  cents. 

SAURIN’S  SERMONS:  edited  by  Bishop  Henshaw,  .$3  75. 

SCOTT’S  (Rev.  John)  LUTHER  AND  THE  REFOR.MATION,  $I  00. 
SHORERL’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERSECUTIONS  OF  POPERY,  20  cts. 
SHUTTLEWORTH’S  CONSISTENt.'Y  OF  REVELATION,  45  cents. 
S.MEDLEY’S  REFORMED  RELIGION  IN  FRANCE,  $1  40. 

SMITH  (Rev.  Hugh)  ON  THE  HEART  DELINEATED,  45  cents. 
SMITH  AND  ANTHON’S  STATEMENT  OF  FACTS,  1 24  cents. 
STEINMETZ’S  NOVITIATE,  50  cents. 

STONE’S  (Rev.  John  S.)  MYSTERIES  OPENED,  $1  00. 

SUFFERINGS  (the)  OF  CHRIST,  by  a  Layman,  $1  00. 
SUMMERFIELD’S  (Rev.  John)  SER.SlONS,  $1  75. 

TRUE  ISSUE  SUSTAINED.  \U  cents. 

TURNER'S  (Rev.  S.  H.)  ESSAY  ON  THE  DISCOURSE  AT  CAPER- 
NAUM.  75  cents. 

TURNER’S  (S  )  SACRED  HISTORY  of  the  WORLD,  3  vols.,  $1  35. 
UNCLE  PHILIP’S  EVIDENCES  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  35  cents. 
WADDINGTON’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH,  $1  75. 
WaINVVRIGHT.  “NO  CHURCH  WITHOUT  A  BISHOP.”  25  cents. 
WHATELEY  (Archbishop).  CHRISTIANITY  INDEPENDENT  OF  THE 
Civil  Government,  90  cents. 

WHEWELL’S  ASTRONOMY  AND  GENERAL  PHY'SICS,  50  cents. 


Biography. 

APOSTLES  AND  EARLY  MARTYRS  OF  THE  CHURCH,  25  cents. 
BARROW’S  (John)  LIFE  OF  PETER  THE  GREAT,  45  cents. 
BANGS’S  LIFE  OF  JAMES  AR.MINIUS,  D.D.,  50  cents. 

BELKNAP’S  (Jeremy)  AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHY.  3  vols.,  $1  35. 
BELL’S  (H.  G.)  life  OF  MARY  QUEEN  OF  SCOTS,  85  cents 
BELL’S  (Robert)  LIFE  OF  RT.  HON.  GEORGE  CANNING,  50  cents 
BONAPARTE  (Lucien),  MEMOIRS  OF.  30  cents. 

BONAPARTE  (Napoleon),  COURT  AND  CAMP  OP,  45  cents. 
BOSWELL’S  LIFE  OF  SAMUEL  JOHNSON. 


PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  &  BROTHERS 


3 


BREWSTER’S  LIFE  OF  SIR  ISAAC  NEWTON.  45  cents. 

- LIVES  OF  GALILEO,  TYCHO  BRAHE,  &c.,  45  cents. 

BURR  (Aaron),  PRIVATE  JOURN.AL  OF,  $4  50. 

BUSH'S  LIFE  OF  MOHAMMED,  45  cent.s. 

CALHOUN’S  LIFE  AND  SPEECHIES,  $1  12^. 

- LIFE.  I2i  cents. 

CAMPBELL’S  LIFE  OF  MRS.  SIDDONS,  70  cents. 

COBBETT’S  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  .lACKSON,  40  cents. 

COOLEY’S  LIFE  OF  HAYNES  :  edited  bv  Sprague,  90  cents. 
CORNWALL’S  (Barry)  LIFE  OF  EDMUND  KEAN,  65  cents. 
COWELL’S  LIFE,  by  Himsei.f,  25  cents. 

CROCKETT,  SKETCHES  OF  THE  LIFE  OF,  50  cents. 

CROLY’S  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  IV.,  45  cents. 

CUNNINGHAM’S  (Allan)  LIVES  OF  EMINENT  PAINTERS,  $2  10 
D’ABRANTES  (Duchess),  MEMOIRS  OF,  .$1  37^. 

DAVIS'S  MEMOIRS  OF  AARON  BURR,  $3  80. 

DISTINGUISHED  MEN  OF  MODERN  TIMES  (Lives  of),  90  cents. 
DISTINGUISHED  FEMALES  (Lives  of),  35  cents. 

DOVER’S  (Lord)  LIFE  OF  FREDERIC  THE  GREAT,  90  cents. 

DREW  (Sa.muel),  life  OF,  by  his  Son,  75  cents. 

DWIGHT’S  LIVES  OF  THE  SIGNERS  OF  THE  DECLARATION  OF 
Independence,  90  cents. 

EMINENT  INDIVIDUALS,  LIVES  OF,  3  vols. 

FENELON'S  LIVES  OF  ANCIENT  PHILOSOPHERS,  45  cents. 
FORSTER’S  STATESMEN  OF  THE  ENGLISH  COMMONWEALTH. 
FORSYTH’S  (Dr.)  LIFE  OF  Dr.  PROUDFIT,  75  cents. 

FRANKLIN  (Dr.),  LIFE  OF,  by  Himself,  2  vols.,  90  cents. 

GALT'S  (John)  LIFE  OF  LORD  BYRON,  40  cents. 

GLASS’S  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON;  in  Latin,  $1 
GODWIN’S  LIVES  OF  THE  NECROMANCERS,  65  cents 
HEAD’S  LIFE  OF  BRUCE,  the  African  Traveler,  45  cents. 

HOGG’S  ANECDOTES  OF  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT,  60  cents. 
HOLDICH’S  LIFE  OF  Rev.  Dr.  WILLBUR  FISK,  $2  00. 

HOLMES’S  LIFE  OF  MOZART,  50  cents. 

HORNE’S  NEW  SPIRIT  OF  THE  AGE,  25  cents. 

HUNTER’S  SACRED  BIOGRAPHY,  .$1  75. 

IRVING’S  LIFE  OF  OLIVER  GOLDSMITH,  90  cents. 

- LIFE  OF  COLUMBUS. 

JAMES’S  LIFE  OF  CHARLE.MAGNE,  45  cents. 

JAMESON’S  MEMOIRS  OF  CELEBRATED  FEMALE  SOVEREIGNS, 
80  cents. 

JAY’S  (John)  LIFE,  by  his  Son,  $5  00. 

JOHNSON’S  (Dr.)  LIFE,  AND  SELECT  WORKS,  90  cents. 
KENDALL’S  (Amos)  LIFE  OF  GENERAL  JACKSON. 

LEE’S  (Mis.)  LIFE  OF  BARON  CUVIER,  .50  cents. 

LE  BAS’S  (C.  W.)  LIFE  OF  WICLIF.  50  cents. 

- LIFE  OF  CRANMER,  2  vols.,  $1  00. 

LIVES  OF  EMINENT  MECHANICS. 

LOCKHART’S  LIFE  OF  NAPOLEON,  2  vols.,  90  cents. 

MACKENZIE’S  (A.  Slidell)  LIFE  OF  PAUL  JONES,  $1  00. 

- LIFE  OF  Com.  O.  H.  PERRY,  90  cents. 

MEMES’S  MEMOIRS  OF  THE  EMPRESS  JOSEPHINE,  45  cents. 
M'GUIRE’S  OPINIONS  and  CHARACTER  of  WASHINGTON,  $1  12i. 
MOORE’S  (Thomas)  LIFE,  LETTERS,  &c.,  OF  BYRON,  $2  75. 

- LIFE  OF  LORD  EDWARD  FITZGERALD,  $1  00 

NAVIGATORS  (Early),  LIVES  OF,  45  cents. 

PARK’S  (Mungo)  LIFE  AND  TRAVELS,  45  cents. 

PAULDING’S  (J.  K.)  LIFE  OF  GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  90  cents. 
PELLICO’S  (Silvio)  MEMOIRS  AND  IMPRISONMENTS,  50  cents. 
PLUTARCH’S  LIVES  :  translated  by  Langhorne,  $2  00. 

The  same  Work  in  4  vols.,  $3  50. 

RENWICK’S  LIFE  OF  DE  WITT  CLINTON,  45  cents. 

- -  LIVES  OF  JOHN  JAY  AND  ALEXANDER  HAMILTON 


45  cents. 


4 


VALUABLE  NEW  AND  STANDARD  WORKS 


ROBERTS’S  LIFE  AND  CORRESPONDENCE  OF  11.  MORE,  $1  50. 
RUSSELL’S  LIFE  OF  OLIVER  CROMWELL,  90  cents. 

SCOTT’S  (Rev.  John)  LIFE  OF  LUTHER,  $I  00. 

SEDGWICK’S  (T.)  LIFE  AND  LETTERS  OF  W.  LIVINGSTON,  $2  00 
SOUTHEY’S  (Robert)  LIFE  OF  LORD  NELSON,  45  cents. 

SPARKS’S  (Jared)  WRITINGS  OF  WASHINGTON,  12  vols.,  $18  00. 

- AMERICAN  BIOGRAPHY,  10  vols.,  $7  50. 

The  Volumes  sold  separately,  if  desired,  75  cents  each. 

STEWART’S  ADVENTURES  IN  CAPTURING  MURRELL,  90  cents. 
STILLING’S  AUTOBIOGRAPHY,  25  cents. 

STONE’S  LIFE  OF  BRANT,  the  Indian  Chief,  90  cents. 

- LIFE  OF  MATTHIAS  THE  IMPOSTOR.  62*  cents. 

ST.  JOHN’S  LIVES  OF  CELEBRATED  TRAVELERS”  $1  25. 
TAYLOR’S  (John)  “  RECORDS  OF  MY  LIFE,”  $1  50. 

TAYLOR’S  (W.  C.)  MODERN  BRITISH  PLUTARCH,  50  cents. 
THATCHER’S  BIOGRAPHY  OF  DISTINGUISHED  INDIANS, 90  cents. 
TYLER’S  (John)  LIFE  AND  SPEECHES,  50  cents. 

- - HISTORY,  CHARACTER,  AND  POSITION,  12J cents. 

W'LLIAMS’S  LIFE  OF  ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT,  45  cents. 
WILSON’S  LIVES  OF  ECCENTRIC  AND  WONDERFUL  CHARAC- 
TEKS,  $1  90. 


History,  Ancient  and  Modern. 

ALISON'S  HISTORY  OF  EUROPE  FROM  1789  TO  1815.  $5  00. 
BONNECHOSE’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMERS  BEFORE  LU 
T' H  EH  40  Cents 

BUCKE’S  RUINS  OF  ANCIENT  CITIES,  90  cents. 

BULWER’S  (Sir  E.  L.)  ATHENS.  ITS  RISE  AND  FALL.  $1  20. 
BUNNER’S  HISTORY  OF  LOUISIANA  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME, 
45  cents 

CjESAR’S  COMMENTARIES  :  translated  by  William  Duncan,  90  cents 
CRICHTON’S  HISTORY  of  ARABIA.  ANCIENT  and  MODERN,  90  cts. 
CRICHTON  AND  WHEATON'S  DENMARK,  NORWAY,  AND  SWE¬ 
DEN,  90  cents. 

CROWE’S  HISTORY  OF  FRANCE,  3  vols.,  $1  75. 

DAVIS'S  HISTORY  OF  CHINA,  90  cents. 

DUNHAM’S  HISTORY  OF  SPAIN  AND  PORTUGAL.  $2  50. 
DUNLAP'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK.  90  cents. 

- - HISTORY  OF  THE  AMERICAN  THEATER,  $1  75. 

DWIGHT’S  HISTORY  OF  CONNECTICUT,  45  cents. 

FERGUSON’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  ROMAN  REPUBLIC,  45  cents. 
FLETCIIEK’S  HISTORY  OF  POLAND,  45  cents. 

FLORIAN’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  MOORS  IN  SPAIN.  45  cents. 
FRASER’S  HISTORY  OF  MESOPOTAMIA  AND  ASSYRIA,  45  cents. 

- HISTORICAL  AND  DESCRIPTIVE  ACCOUNT  OF  PER 

siA  45  cents. 

GIBBON’S  HISTORY  OF  ROME,  with  Notes,  by  Milman,  $5  00. 
GLEIG’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  BIBLE,  80  cents. 

GOLDSMITH’S  HISTORY  OF  ROME:  abridged,  45  cents. 

- - - HISTORY  OF  GREECE:  aliridged,  45  cents. 

GRANT’S  HISTORY  of  the  NESTORIANS,  or  LOST  TRIBES,  $1  00 
GRATTAN’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS  TO  THE  Revo¬ 
lution  OF  1830,  60  cents. 

HALE'S  HISTORY  of  the  UNITED  STATES  to  1817,  2  vols.,  90 cents 
HALLAM’S  CONSTITUTIONAL  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND,  $2  00. 

- VIEW  OF  EUROPE  DURING  THE  MIDDLE  AGES,  $2  00 

- INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  LITERATURE  OF  EUROPE, 

$3  75. 

HAWKS’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  PROTESTANT  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH 
IN  Virginia,  $1  75. 

HENRY’S  HISTORY  OF  PHILOSOPHY,  2  vols.,  90  cents. 
HERODOTUS’S  GENERAL  HISTORY  ;  by  Rev.  W.  Beloe,  $1  35 


PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  &.  BROTHERS. 


5 


nOWITT’S  HISTORY  OF  PRIESTCRAFT  IN  ALL  AGES,  60  cents. 
ICELAND,  GREENLAND,  AND  THE  FAROE  ISLANDS,  45  cents. 
JAMES'S  HISTORY  OF  CHIVALRY  AND  THE  CRUSADES,  45  cents 
JAPAN  AND  THE  JAPANESE,  45  cents. 

JARVIS’S  CHRONOLOGICAL  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  HISTORY 
OK  THE  Church,  $3  00. 

KEIGHTLEY’S  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND  TO  1839,  5  vols.,  $2  25. 
LANMAN’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  STATE  OF  MICHIGAN,  45  cents. 
LIBBER’S  GREAT  EVENTS. 

LIVY’S  HISTORY  OF  ROME  :  translated  by  Baker,  5  vols.,  $2  25 
LOSSING’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  FINE  ARTS,  45  cents. 
MACKINTOSH’S  ENGLAND  TO  THE  17th  CENTURY,  $1  50. 
MICHELET’S  ELEMENTS  OF  MODERN  HISTORY,  45  cents. 
MILMAN’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  JEWS,  3  vols.,  $1  20. 

- HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  $1  90. 

MONETTE’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI. 
MOSHEI.M’S  ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY  :  Maclaine’s  Edition,  $3  50. 

Murdock's  Edition  of  the  same  Work,  $7  50. 

MULLER’S  (Baron  Yon)  HISTORY  OF  THE  WORLD. 

MURRAY’S  HISTORICAL  ACCOUNT  OF  BRITISH  AMERICA,  90  cts. 

- - - HISTORICAL  ACCOUNT  OF  BRITISH  INDIA,  $1  35. 

NEAL’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  PURITANS,  $3  50. 

PICTORIAL  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND  TO  THE  REIGN  OF  GEORGE 
HI.,  profusely  Illustrated. 

PRESCOTT’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO,  3  vols., 
$0  (10. 

- HISTORY  OF  FERDINAND  AND  ISABELLA,  3  vols., 

$6  00. 

PRIDEAUX’S  CONNECTION  of  the  OLD  and  NEW  TESTAMENTS, 
$3  75. 

ROBERTSON’S  HISTORICAL  AVORKS,  3  vols.,  8vo,  Maps,  $5  00. 

■ - HISTORY  OF  THE  REIGN  OF  CHARLES  V.,  $1  75. 

Abridged,  45  cents. 

- HISTORY  OF  AMERICA,  .$1  75.  Abridged,  45  ccnte. 

- HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND  AND  ANCIENT  INDIA, 

$1  75. 

ROBINS’S  (Mrs.)  TALES  FROM  AMERICAN  HISTORY,  3  vols.,  $1  00 
ROLLIN’S  ANCIENT  HISTORY,  WITH  A  LIFE  OF  THE  AUTHOR, 
$3  75. 

RUSSELL  AND  JONES’S  HISTORY  OF  MODERN  EUROPE,  $5  00 
RUSSELL’S  (Michael)  HISTORY  OF  EGYPT,  45  cents. 

- HISTORY  OF  NUBIA  and  ABYSSINIA,  45  cts. 

• - HISTORY  OF  THE  BARBARY  STATES,  45  cts. 

- HISTORY  OF  POLYNESIA,  45  cents. 

- HISTORY  OF  PALESTINE,  45  cents. 

SALE’S  (Lady)  JOURNAL  OF  DISASTERS  IN  AFGHANISTAN,  12.icts. 
SALLUST’S  HISTORY  :  translated  by  Rose,  40  cents. 

SCHILLER’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  THIRTY  YEARS’  WAR. 

SCOTT’S  (Sir  W.)  HISTORY  OF  SCOTLAND,  $1  20. 

- HISTORY  OF  DEMONOLOGY,  40  cents. 

SCOTT’S  (Rev.  John)  LUTHERAN  REFORMATION,  $1  00. 

SEGUR’S  HISTORY  OF  NAPOLEON’S  RUSSIAN  CAMPAIGN,  90  cts 
SFORZOSI’S  HISTORY  OF  ITALY,  45  cents. 

SILK,  COTTON,  LINEN,  WOOL,  (History  ok),  $3  00. 

SISMONDI’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  ITALIAN  REPUBLICS,  60  cents. 
SMEDLEY’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  REFORMATION  IN  FRANCE,  $1  40. 

- SKETCHES  FROM  VENETIAN  HISTORY,  90  cents. 

SMITH’S  (H.)  HISTORY  OF  FESTIVALS,  GAMES,  &c.,  45  cents. 
SMITH’S  (H.  J.)  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION,  45  cents. 

SPALDING’S  HISTORY  of  ITALY  and  the  ITALIAN  ISLANDS,  $1  35. 
STONE’S  BORDER  WARS  of  the  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION,  90  cts. 
SWITZERLAND,  HISTORY  OF,  60  cents. 

TAYLOR’S  HISTORY  OF  IRELAND,  90  cents. 

THATCHER’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  BOSTON  TEA-PARTY,  62J  cents. 


6 


VALUABLE  NEW  AND  STANDARD  WORKS 


THATCHER’S  TALES  OF  THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION,  35  cents 
THIRLWALL'S  HISTORY  OF  GREECE,  2  vols.,  $3  50. 

THUCYDIDES’  GENERAL  HISTORY  :  translated  by  Smith,  90  cents. 
TURNER’S  SACRED  HISTORY  OF  THE  WORLD,  §1  35. 

TYTLER’S  UNIVERSAL  HISTORY,  6  vols.,  $2  70. 

UNCLE  PHILIP’S  HISTORY  OF  VIRGINIA,  35  cents. 

- HISTORY  OF  NEW  A'ORK,  2  vols.,  70  cents. 

• - HISTORY  OF  LOST  GREENLAND,  35  cents. 

- HISTORY  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE,  2  vols.,  70  cents. 

- HISTORY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS,  2  vols.,  70  cents. 

WADDINGTON’S  HISTORY  OF  THE  CHURCH,  $1  75. 
XENOPHON’S  HISTORY :  translated  by  Spelman,  85  cents 


College  &L  School  Books. 

ABERCROMBIE’S  ESSAY  on  the  INTELLECTUAL  POWERS,  45  els. 

- PHILOSOPHY  OF  THE  MORAL  FEELINGS,  40  cts. 

ALISON’S  ESSAYS  on  the  NATURE  AND  PRINCIPLES  ok  TASTE, 
7 5  ce  n ts. 

ANTHON’S  (Charles)  LATIN  LESSONS,  90  cents. 

- LATIN  PROSE  COMPOSITION,  90  cents. 

- - LATIN  PROSODY  AND  METRE,  90  cents. 

- LATIN  VERSIFICATION,  90  cents. 

- KEY  TO  LATIN  VERSIFICATION,  50  cents. 

- ZUMPT’S  LATIN  GRAMMAR.  90  cents. 

- - - COMMENTARIES  OF  CAESAR,  $I  40. 

- ^NEID  OF  VIRGIL.  English  Notes,  $2  00. 

- ECLOGUES  AND  GEORGICS  OF  VIRGIL, 

$1  50. 

- - CICERO’S  SELECT  ORATIONS,  $1  20. 

- SALLUST.  With  English  Notes,  87j  cents. 

- - HORACE.  With  English  Notes,  $1  75. 

- FIRST  GREEK  LESSONS.  90  cents. 

- GREEK  PROSE  COMPOSITION,  90  cents. 

- - -  GREEK  PROSODY  AND  METRE,  90  cents. 

- GREEK  GRAMMAR,  90  cents. 

•  - NEW  GREEK  GRAMMAR,  90  cents. 

- HOMER.  With  English  Notes,  $1  50. 

•  - GREEK  READER,  FROM  THE  GERMAN  OF 

Jacobs,  $1  75. 

- ANABASIS  OF  XENOPHON. 

- CLASSICAL  DICTIONARY,  .$4  75. 

- SMITH’S  DICTIONARY  of  GREEK  and  RO- 

MAN  Antiquities,  $4  75. 

The  same  work,  abridged,  $1  25. 

BENNETT’S  SYSTEM  OF  BOOK-KEEPING,  ^1  50. 

BOUCHARLAT’S  ELEMENTARY  TREATISE  ON  MECHANICS,  $2  25 
BOYD’S  ELEMENTS  OF  RHETORIC,  50  cents. 

BURKE’S  ESSAY  ON  THE  SUBLIME  AND  BEAUTIFUL,  75  cents 
CAMPBELL’S  PHILOSOPHY  OF  RHETORIC,  ^1  25 
CLARK’S  ELEMENTS  OF  ALGEBRA,  $1  00. 

DRAPER’S  TEXT-BOOK  ON  CHEMISTRY,  !?1  75. 

EDWARDS’S  BOOK-KEEPER’S  ATLAS,  $2  00. 

GLASS’S  LIFE  OF  WASHINGTON,  §1  12i. 

GRISCOM’S  ANIMAL  MECHANISM  AND  PHYSIOLOGY,  45  cents. 
HACKLEY’S  TREATISE  ON  ALGEBRA. 

IIAZEN’S  PROFESSIONS  AND  TRADES.  61  Engravings.  75  cent.s 
IIEMPEL’S  GRAMMAR  OF  THE  GERMAN  LANGUAGE,  §1  75 
HENRY’S  HISTORY  OF  PHILOSOPHY,  90  cents. 

KANE’S  ELEMENTS  OF  CHEMISTRY,  .'52  00. 

LEE’S  ELEMENTS  OF  GEOLOGY,  50  cents. 

LEWIS’S  PLATONIC  THEOLOGY,  &c.,  $1  50. 

LIDDELL  AND  SCOTT’S  NEW  GREEK-ENGLISH  LEXICON,  .$5  00 


PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  &,  BROTHERS. 


7 


LOOMIS’S  TREATISE  ON  ALGEBRA,  $1  25. 

MAURY’S  PRINCIPLES  OF  ELOQUENCE,  45  cents. 

IVPCLINTOCK  AND  CROOKS’S  FIRST  BOOK  IN  LATIN,  75  cents. 
MILL’S  LOGIC,  RATIOCINATIVE  AND  INDUCTIVE,  $2  00. 

MORSE’S  NEW  SYSTEM  OF  GEOGRAPHY,  50  cents. 

- CEROGRAPHIC  MAPS. 

NOEL  AND  CHAPSAL’S  NEW  SYSTEM  OP  FRENCH  GRAMMAR, 
75  cents. 

PARKER’S  AIDS  TO  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION,  90  cents. 

POTTER’S  POLITICAL  ECONOMY,  ITS  USES,  <&c.,  50  cents. 
PROUDFIT’S  PLAUTUS,  “  THE  CAPTIVES.”  English  Notes,  37i  cents. 
RENWICK’S  PRACTICAL  MECHANICS,  90  cents. 

■ - ELEMENTS  OF  CHEMISTRY,  75  cents. 

- ELEMENTS  OF  NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY,  75  cents. 

SALKELD’S  CLASSICAL  ANTIQUITIES. 

SCHMUCKER'’S  PSYCHOLOGY,  SI  00. 

UPHAM’S  TREATISE  ON  THE  WILL,  $1  25. 

- ELEMENTS  OF  MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY.  2  vols.,  $2  50 

Abridged,  $1  25. 


Essayists,  Belles-I«ettres,  &.c. 

ADDISON’S  COMPLETE  WORKS,  3  vols.,  .ft5  50. 

- - - SELECTIONS  FROM  THE  SPECTATOR,  90  cents. 

BACON  AND  LOCKE’S  ESSAYS,  45  cents. 

BROUGHAM’S  PLEASURES  AND  ADVANTAGES  OF  SCIENCE,  45 

BUCKE’S  BEAUTIES  AND  SUBLIMITIES  OF  NATURE,  45  cents. 
BURKE’S  COMPLETE  WORKS,  3  vols.,  $5  00. 

- ESSAY  ON  THE  SUBLIME  AND  BEAUTIFUL,  75  cen..«. 

CHESTERFIELD’S  LETTERS  TO  HIS  SON,  and  other  Writings, 

1 5. 

CICERO’S  OFFICES,  ORATIONS,  AND  CATO  AND  L.<ELIUS,  .$1  25. 
COLERIDGE’S  LETTERS,  CONVERSATIONS,  AND  RECOLLEC¬ 
TIONS,  65  cents. 

- - ,  SPECIMENS  OF  THE  TABLE-TALK  OF,  70  cents. 

COMBE’S  PHYSIOLOGY  APPLIED  TO  HEALTH  AND  MENTAL 
Education  45  C6nts> 

DICK  ON  THE  IMPROVEMENT  OF  SOCIETY  BY  THE  DIFFUSION 
OF  Knowledge,  45  cents. 

D’ISRAELI’S  AMENITIES  OF  LITERATURE. 

DEMOSTHENES’  ORATIONS;  translated  by  Leland,  85  cents. 
DRYDEN’S  COMPLETE  WORKS,  2  vols.,  $3  75. 

DUTY  (THE)  OF  AMERICAN  WOMEN  TO  THEIR  COUNTRY,  37i  cents. 
EDGEWORTH’S  TREATISE  ON  PRACTICAL  EDUCATION,  85  cents. 
EVERETT  ON  PRACTICAL  EDUCATION. 

FAMILY  INSTRUCTOR  ;  or,  DUTIES  OF  DOMESTIC  LIFE,  45  cents. 
GRAVES’S  (Mrs.  A.  J.)  WOMAN  IN  AMERICA,  45  cents. 

HORNE’S  NEW  SPIRIT  OF  THE  AGE,  25  cents. 

HUTTON’S  BOOK  OF  NATURE. 

JOHNSON’S  (B.)  COMPLETE  WORKS,  2  vols. 

JOHNSON’S  (A.  B.)  TREATISE  ON  LANGUAGE,  $1  75. 

- LECTURES  TO  YOUNG  MEN,  45  cents. 

LAMB’S  ESSAYS  OF  ELIA,  LETTERS,  POEMS,  &c.,  $2  00. 
MACKENZIE’S  (Henry)  COMPLETE  WORKS,  $1  25. 

MARTINEAU.  HOW  TO  OBSERVE,  4^  cents. 

MATHEWS’S  (Cornelius)  MISCELLANEOUS  WRITINGS,  $1  00. 
MAURY’S  PRINCIPLES  OF  ELOQUENCE,  45  cents. 

MONTGOMERY’S  LECTURES  ON  POETRY  AND  LITERATURE, 
45  C6nt/S» 

MORE’S  (Hannah)  COMPLETE  WORKS,  7  vols.,  $6  50.  2  vols.,  $2  75 
MUDIE’S  GUIDE  TO  THE  OBSERV.VTION  OF  NATURE,  45  cents. 
NEELE’S  (Henry)  LITERARY  REMAINS,  $1  00. 

NOTT’S  COUNSELS  TO  YOUNG  MEN,  50  cents. 


8 


VALUABLE  NEW  AND  STANDARD  WORKS 


rOTTER  AND  EMERSON’S  SCHOOL  AND  THE  SCHOOLMASTER, 

$1  00. 

PRESCOTT’S  BIOGRAPHICAL  AND  CRITICAL  MISCELLANIES, 

$2  00. 

PURSUIT  OF  KNOWLEDGE  UNDER  DIFFICULTIES,  90  cents. 
SANDS’S  (Robert  C.)  WRITINGS,  2  vols.,  $3  75. 

SEDGWICK’S  (Miss)  MEANS  AND  ENDS,  45  cents. 

SIGOURNEY’S  (Mrs.  L.  H.)  LETTERS  TO  MOTHERS,  90  cents. 

- - - LETTERS  TO  YOUNG  LADIES,  90  cents. 

SMITH’S  (H.  J.)  PLAN  OF  INSTRUCTION  AND  HISTORY  OF  ED- 

tTr'A'TTnM  4^  PPIltQ 

SOUTHEY  (Robert).  THE  DOCTOR,  &e.,  45  cents. 

VERPLANCK’S  DISCOURSES  ON  AMERICAN  HISTORY,  60  cents. 

- INFLUENCE  OF  LII3EHAL  STUDIES,  25  cents. 

- INFLUENCE  OF  MORAL  CAUSES,  15  cents. 

WIRT’S  LETTERS  OF  THE  BRITISH  SPY,  60  cents. 


Mental  and  Moral  Science,  &.c. 

ABERCROMBIE’S  PHILOSOPHY  OF  THE  MORAL  FEELINGS,  40  cts. 

- ON  THE  INTELLECTUAL  POWERS,  45  cents. 

ALISON  ON  THE  NATURE  AND  PRINCIPLES  OF  TASTE,  75  cents. 
BACON  AND  LOCKE’S  ESSAYS,  AND  CONDUCT  OF  THE  UNDER¬ 
STANDING,  45  cents. 

BOYD’S  ELEMENTS  OF  RHETORIC  AND  LITERARY  CRITICISM, 
50  CBUtS 

BURKE’S  ESSAY  ON  THE  SUBLIME  AND  BEAUTIFUL,  75  cents. 
CAMPBELL’S  (George)  PHILOSOPHY  OF  RHETORIC,  $1  25. 
COMBE’S  CONSTITUTION  OF  MAN,  45  cents. 

DENDY^’S  PHILOSOPHY  OP  MYSTERY,  45  cents. 

DYMOND’S  PRINCIPLES  OP  MORALITY:  edited  by  G.  Bush,  $1  37L 
HENRY’S  EPITOME  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  PHILOSOPHY,  90  cents. 
MARTINEAU’S  LETTERS  ON  MESMERISM,  6^  cents. 

MAURY’S  PRINCIPLES  OF  ELOQUENCE,  45  cents. 

MILL’S  SYSTEM  OF  LOGIC,  RATIOCINATIVE  AND  INDUCTIVE, 

$2  00. 

PARKER’S  AIDS  TO  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION,  90  cents. 
SAUSSURE’S  (Madame  de)  FIRESIDE  FRIEND. 

SCIIMUCKER’S  PSYCHOLOGY,  OR  MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY,  $1  00. 
SEERESS  (THE)  OF  PREVORST,  25  cents. 

TOWNSHEND’S  FACTS  IN  MESMERISM.  With  Plates,  75  cents. 
UNCLE  SAM’S  RECOMMENDATIONS  OF  PHRENOLOGY,  45  cents. 
UPHAM’S  IMPERFECT  and  DISORDERED  MENTAL  ACTION,  45  cts. 

- ELEMENTS  OF  MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY,  $2  50.  Abridged, 

$1  25. 

- - PHILOSOPHICAL  AND  PRACTICAL  TREATISE  ON  THE 

Will,  $1  25. 


Statural  Science,  &^c. 

BELL’S  MECHANISM  OF  THE  HAND,  60  cents. 

BIGELOW  (Jacob)  ON  THE  USEFUL  ARTS. 

BIRDS,  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF,  45  cents. 

BOUCHARLAT’S  ELEMENTARY  TREATISE  ON  MECHANICS,  $2  25 
BRANDE’S  ENCYCLOPEDIA  OF  SCIENCE  AND  ART,  $4  00. 
BREWSTER’S  LETTERS  ON  NATURAL  MAGIC,  45  cents. 
BROWNE’S  TREES  OF  AMERICA,  §5  00. 

CHAPTAL’S  CHEMISTRY  APPLIED  TO  AGRICULTURE,  45  cents. 
CO.MBE’S  PRINCIPLES  OF  PHYSIOLOGY,  45  cents. 

DANIELL’S  ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY,  68^  cts 
DICK’S  CELESTIAL  SCENERY,  45  cents. 

• -  SIDEREAL  HEAVENS,  45  cents. 

- PRACTICAL  ASTRONO.MER,  50  cents. 


PUBLISHED  BY*  HARPER  AND  BROTHERS. 


9 


DRAPER’S  CHEMICAL  ORGANIZATION  OF  PLANTS,  $2  50. 

■ - TEXT-BOOK  OF  CHEMISTRY,  75  cents. 

DYEING,  CALICO-PRINTING,  &c.,  $3  50. 

ELEPHANT,  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  THE,  45  cents. 

EULER’S  LETTERS  ON  NATURAL  PHILOSOPHY,  edited  by  Brew¬ 
ster  and  Griscom,  45  cents. 

GRISCOM’S  ANIMAL  MECHANISM  AND  PHYSIOLOGY,  45  cents. 
HASWELL’S  ENGINEERS’  and  MECHANICS’  POCKET-BOOK,  $1  25. 
HERSCHEL  (J.  F.  W.)  ON  THE  STUDY  OF  NATURAL  PHILOSO- 
PHY  60  cents. 

HIGGINS’S  PHYSICAL  CONDITION  AND  PHENOMENA  OF  THE 
Earth,  45  cents. 

HUMBOLDT’S  COSMOS  ;  A  SURVEY  of  the  PHYSICAL  HISTORY 
OF  THE  Universe. 

INSECTS,  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF,  90  cents. 

KANE’S  ELEMENTS  OF  CHEMISTRY:  edited  by  Draper,  $2  00. 
LEE’S  ELEMENTS  OF  GEOLOGY  FOR  POPULAR  USE,  50  cents. 
MUDIE’S  guide  to  THE  OBSERVATION  OF  NATURE,  45  cents 
MOSELEY’S  ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  MECHANICS,  45  cents. 
OLMSTEAD’S  LETTERS  ON  ASTRONOMY. 

POTTER’S  SCIENCE  API’LIED  TO  THE  DOMESTIC  ARTS,  &c. 
QUADRUPEDS,  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF,  45  cents. 

RENWICK’S  PRACTICAL  MECHANICS,  90  cents. 

- FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  CHEMISTRY,  75  cents. 

- FIRST  PRINCIPLES  OF  N.ATURAL  PHILOSOPHY,  75 

SACRED  PHILOSOPHY  OF  THE  SEASONS. 

SOMERVILLE’S  (Mary)  CONNECTION  OF  THE  PHYSICAL  SCI¬ 
ENCES,  50  cents. 

UNCLE  PHILIP’S  AMERICAN  FOREST,  35  cents. 

- NATURAL  HISTORY,  35  cents. 

VEGETABLE  SUBSTANCES  USED  FOR  THE  FOOD  OF  MAN,  45  cts 
WHEWELL’S  ASTRONOMY  AND  GENERAL  PHYSICS,  50  cents. 
■WHITE’S  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  SELBORNE,  45  cents. 

WYATT’S  MANUAL  OF  CONCHOLOGY,  $2  75.  Colored  Plates,  $7  50. 


Voyages  and  Travels. 

ALTOWAN ;  or.  Incidents  of  Life  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  $1  25. 
ANTHON’S  (C.  E.)  PILGRIMAGE  TO  TREVES,  75  cents. 

BARROW’S  VOYAGES  WITHIN  THE  ARCTIC  REGIONS,  50  cents. 

- - PITCAIRN’S  ISLAND  AND  MUTINY  OF  THE  SHIP 

Bounty,  45  cents. 

BROWNE’S  ETCHINGS  OF  A  WHALING  CRUISE,  $2  00. 
BUCKINGHAM’S  TRAVELS  IN  AMERICA.  Engravings,  $3  50. 
CHANGE  FOR  THE  AMERICAN  NOTES,  12J  cents. 
CIRCUMNAVIGATION  OF  THE  GLOBE,  45  cents. 

COKE’S  TRAVELS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  NOVA  SCOTIA,  AND 
Canada,  75  cents. 

COLTON’S  FOUR  YEARS  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN,  90  cents. 

COOK’S  VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD.  With  a  Sketch  of  his  Life, 
37i  cents. 

DANA’S  TWO  YEARS  BEFORE  THE  MAST,  45  cents. 

DARWIN’S  VOYAGE  OF  A  NATURALIST,  $1  00. 

DAVENPORT’S  PERILOUS  ADVENTURES,  45  cents. 

DE  KAY’S  SKETCHES  OF  TURKEY,  $2  00. 

DICKENS’S  AMERICAN  NOTES  FOR  GENERAL  CIRCULATION, 
12A  cents.  I 

DRAKE,  CAVENDISH,  AND  DAMPIER,  LIVES  AND  VOYAGES  OF, 
45  cents 

DURBIN’S  OBSERVATIONS  IN  EUROPE,  2  vols.,  $2  00. 

- TRAVELS  IN  THE  EAST,  2  vols.,  $2  00. 

ELLIS’S  POLYNESIAN  RESEARCHES,  4  vols.,  .$2  50. 

EMERSON’S  LETTERS  FROM  THE  jEGEAN,  75  cents 


10 


VALUABLE  NEW  AND  STANDARD  WORKS 


FARNHAM’S  (Mrs.  Eliza  W.)  LIFE  IN  PRAIRIE  LAND,  50  cente. 
FEATHERSTONHAUGII’S  EXCURSIONS  THROUGH  THE  SLAVE 
States  &c,  25  C6nts. 

FIDLER’S  OBSERVATIONS  ON  PROFESSIONS,  &c  ,  IN  THE  UNIT¬ 
ED  States  and  Canada,  60  cents. 

FISK’S  TRAVELS  IN  EUROPE,  $3  25. 

FLAGG’S  TRAVELS  IN  THE  FAR  WEST,  $1  50. 

GRANT’S  NESTORIANS  ;  OR,  THE  LOST  TRIBES,  $1  00. 

GREEN’S  TEXIAN  EXPEDITION  AGAINST  MIER.  Plates,  $2  00. 
HAIGHT’S  (Mrs.)  LETTERS  FROM  THE  OLD  WORLD,  $1  75. 
HEAD’S  (Sir  Geo.)  MANUFACTURING  DISTRICTS  OF  ENGLAND, 
$1  127. 

HEAD’S  (Sir  Francis  B.)  LIFE  AND  ADVENTURES  OF  BRUCE,  THE 
’  African  Traveler,  45  cents. 

HOFFMAN’S  WINTER  IN  THE  WEST,  $1  50. 

HUMBOLDT’S  TRAVELS  AND  RESEARCHES,  45  cents. 
HUMPHREY’S  GREAT  BRITAIN,  FRANCE,  AND  BELGIUM,  $1  75. 
INGRAHAM’S  SOUTHWEST,  $1  50. 

JACOBS’S  SCENES,  INCIDENTS,  AND  ADVENTURES  IN  THE 
I^ACIFIC  ^)CEAN  25 

JAMESON’S  DISCOVERIES  AND  ADVENTURES  IN  AFRICA,  45  cents. 
JAMESON’S  (Mrs.)  VISITS  and  SKETCHES  at  HOME  and  ABROAD, 
$1  00 

KAY’S  TRAVELS  AND  RESEARCHES  IN  CAFFRARIA,  85  Cents. 
KENDALL’S  TEXAN  SANTA  FE  EXPEDITION,  $2  50. 

KEPPEL’S  EXPEDITION  TO  BORNEO,  50  cents. 

KOHL’S  SKETCHES  IN  IRELAND,  127  cents. 

LANDERS’  (R.  and  J.)  JOURNAL  OF  TRAVEL  IN  AFRICA,  90  cents. 
LATROBE’S  RAMBLER  IN  MEXICO,  65  cents. 

- RAMBLER  IN  NORTH  AMERICA,  $1  10. 

LESLIE,  &c.,  DISCOVERIES  AND  ADVENTURES  IN  THE  POLAR 
Seas,  45  cents. 

LESTER’S  GLORY  AND  SHAME  OF  ENGLAND,  $1  50. 

LEWIS  AND  CLARK’S  TRAVELS  BEYOND  THE  ROCKY  MOUNT¬ 
AINS,  90  cents. 

MACKENZIE’S  YEAR  IN  SPAIN,  $2  25. 

- SPAIN  REVISITED,  $I  75. 

■ - AMERICAN  IN  ENGLAND,  SI  50. 

MARRYAT’S  TRAVELS  OF  MONSIEUR  VIOLET  IN  CALIFORNIA, 
124  cents. 

MILLER’S  CONDITION  OF  GREECE,  37J  cents. 

MORGAN’S  (Lady)  FRANCE,  70  cents. 

MORRELL’S  (Captain)  FOUR  VOYAGES  TO  THE  SOUTH  SEA,  $1  50. 
MORRELL’S  (Mrs.  A.  J.)  VOYAGE  TO  THE  SOUTH  SEA,  62i  cents. 
MOTT’S  TRAVELS  IN  EUROPE  AND  THE  EAST,  $1  90. 

NEW  ORLEANS  AS  I  FOUND  IT,  25  cents. 

OLIN’S  TRAVELS  IN  THE  HOLY'  LAND,  $2  50. 

OWEN’S  VOYAGES  TO  EASTERN  AFRICA,  $I  12i. 

PARK’S  TRAVELS  IN  AFRICA,  45  cents. 

PARROT’S  JOURNEY  TO  MOUNT  ARARAT,  50  cents. 

PARRY’S  VOYAGES  TOWARD  THE  NORTH  POLE,  90  cents. 
PERILS  OF  THE  SEA,  35  cents. 

PHELPS’S  (Mrs.)  CAROLINE  WESTERLEY,  35  cents. 

POLO’S  (Maiico)  travels,  45  cents. 

PORTER’S  CONSTANTINOPLE  AND  ITS  ENVIRONS,  $1  50. 
PUCKLER  MUSKAU.  TUTTI  FRUTTI,  50  cents. 

PYM’S  (Arthur  Gordon)  NARRATIVE!  65  cents. 

REED  AND  MATHESON’S  VISIT  TO  THE  AMERICAN  CHURCHES, 
$  1  30. 

REYNOLDS’S  VOYAGE  OF  THE  U.  S.  FRIGATE  POTOMAC  ROUND 
THE  WORI.D,  $3  25. 

- LETTERS  ON  THE  EXPLORING  EXPEDITION,  $1  50. 

ROBERTS’S  EMBASSY  to  the  COURTS  of  SIAM,  COCHIN-CHINA, 
<fec.,  $1  75. 


r 


PUBLISHED  BY  HARPER  AND  BROTHERS. 


11 


SALE’S  (Lady)  JOURNAL'OF  DISASTERS  IN  AFGHANISTAN,  12icts. 
SARGENT’S  AMERICAN  ADVENTURE  BY  LAND  AND  SEA,  90  cts. 
SCHROEDER’S  SHORES  OF  THE  MEDITERRANEAN,  $1  75. 
SEAWARD’S  NARRATIVE  OF  HIS  SHIPWRECK,  37J  cents. 
SEDGWICK’S  (Miss)  LETTERS  FROM  ABROAD  TO  KINDRED  AT 
Home,  $1  90. 

SIEBOLD’S  MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  THE  JAPANESE,  45  cts. 
STEPHENS’S  INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA. 
Map  and  88  Engravings,  $5  00. 

- INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL  IN  YUCATAN.  120  En¬ 
gravings,  $5  00. 

• - INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL  IN  GREECE,  TURKEY,  RUS¬ 

SIA,  AND  Poland.  Engravings,  $1  75. 

- INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL  IN  EGYPT,  ARABIA  PE- 

TR.EA,  AND  THE  HoLY  Land.  Engravings,  SI  75. 

ST.  JOHN’S  LIVES  OF  CELEBRATED  TRAVELERS,  $I  25. 
TASISTRO’S  TRAVELS  IN  THE  SOUTHERN  STATES,  $1  50. 
THINGS  AS  THEY  ARE  IN  THE  MIDDLE  AND  SOUTHERN 
States,  75  cents. 

TROLLOPE’S  PARIS  AND  THE  PARISIANS  IN  1835,  $1  50. 
TYTLER’S  DISCOVERIES  on  the  NORTHERN  COASTS  of  AMER- 

ICA  45  edits 

UNCLE  PHILIP’S  WHALE  FISHERY  AND  POLAR  SEAS,  70  cents. 
VOYAGES  ROUND  THE  WORLD  since  the  DEATH  OF  CAPTAIN 
45  O0nts 

WOLFF’S  MISSION  TO  BOKHARA.  Engravings,  $2  00. 
WRANGELL’S  EXPEDITION  TO  SIBERIA,  POLAR  SEA,  &c.,  45  cts. 


Splendidly  Ilmbellished  Works. 

AIKIN  (Dr.)  AND  BARBAULD’S  (Mrs  )  EYENINGS  AT  HOME,  $I  20. 
BEATTIE  (James)  AND  COLLINS’S  (William)  POETICAL  WORKS. 
BIBLE,  HARPER’S  ILLUMINATED,  $22  50. 

BOOK  OF  COMMON  PRAYER,  $0  00. 

BUNYAN’S  PILGRIM’S  PROGRESS,  75  cents. 

BYRON’S  CHILDE  HAROLD,  $5  00. 

COWPER’S  (William)  POEMS. 

DEFOE’S  ROBINSON  CRUSOE,  .$!  25. 

ENGLAND,  PICTORIAL  HISTORY  OF. 

FAIRY  BOOK,  ILLUSTRATED,  75  cents. 

GOLDSMITH’S  (Oliver)  POETICAL  WORKS. 

HIEROGLYPHICAL  BIBLE,  70  cents. 

LIFE  OF  CHRIST,  in  the  Words  of  the  Evangelists,  $1  00 
MILTON’S  POETICAL  WORKS. 

SHAKSPEARE,  HARPER’S  ILLUMINATED,  $5  00. 

SUE’S  WANDERING  JEW,  ILLUSTRATED,  $5  00 
THOMSON’S  SEASONS. 


Medical  and  Surgical  Science,  dLc. 

BAYLE’S  ELEMENTARY  TREATISE  ON  ANATOMY,  87i  cents. 
CHAILLY’S  PRACTICAL  TREATISE  ON  MIDWIFERY,  $2  00. 
COOPER’S  DICTIONARY  OF  PRACTICAL  SURGERY,  ,$3  87i. 
COPLAND’S  DICTIONARY  OF  PRACTICAL  MEDICINE,  3  vols.,  vols. 

1  and  2  now  ready,  $5  00  per  volume. 

CRUVEILHIER’S  ANATOMY  OF  THE  HUMAN  BODY,  $3  00. 
DOANE’S  SURGERY  ILLUSTRATED.  25  Plates,  $4  50. 

FERRIS’S  TREATISE  ON  EPIDEMIC  CHOLERA,  $1  25 
GALT’S  TREATMENT  OF  INSANITY. 

GOOD’S  STUDY  OF  MEDICINE,  $5  00. 

GOVE’S  (Mary  S.)  LECTURES  TO  WOMEN  ON  ANATOMY  AND 
Physiology,  75  cents. 


Messrs.  Harper  &  Brothers  bave'  the  pleasure  of  an¬ 
nouncing  that  they  have  just  issued  a  complete  Classified  and 
Descriptive  Catalogue  of  their  Publications,  comprising  a 
very  extensive  range  of  Literature,  in  its  several  departments 
of  History,  Biography,  Philosophy,  Travel,  Science  and  Art, 
the  Classics,  and  Fiction ;  also,  many  splendidly  Embellished 
Productions.  A  rigid  critical  taste  has  governed  the  selec 
tion  of  these  works,  so  as  to  include  not  only  a  large  pro 
portion  of  the  most  esteemed  Literaiy  Productions  of  our 
times,  but  supplying  also,  in  the  majority  of  instances,  the 
best  existing  authorities  on  given  subjects.  This  new  Cata¬ 
logue,  having  been  constructed  with  a  view  to  the  especial 
use  of  persons  desirous  of  forming  or  enriching  their  Literaiy 
Collections,  as  well  as  principals  of  District  Schools  and  Sem¬ 
inaries  of  Learning,  who  may  not  possess  any  reliable  means 
of  forming  a  true  estimate  of  any  production,  commends  itself 
to  all  such  by  its  novel  feature  of  including  bibliographical, 
explanatory,  and  critical  notices.  For  want  of  such  aid,  a 
large  portion  of  the  reading  community  remain  ignorant  of 
the  vast  wealth  of  our  accumulated  literary  stores,  an  acquaint¬ 
ance  with  which  must  ever  be  regarded  as  an  essential  ele¬ 
ment,  both  in  the  jirogress  of  social  advancement  and  in  in¬ 
dividual  refinement  and  happiness.  It  may  be  as  well  to 
add,  that  the  valuable  collection  described  in  this  Catalogue, 
consisting  of  about  eighteen  hundred  volumes,  combines  the 
two-fold  advantages  of  great  economy  in  price  with  neatness 
— often  great  elegance  of  typographical  execution,  in  many 
histances  the  rates  of  publication  being  scarcely  one-fifth  of 
those  of  similar  issues  in  Europe. 

Copies  of  this  Catalogue  may  be  obtained,  free  of  ex¬ 
pense,  by  application  to  the  Publishers  personally,  or  by  letter, 
post-paid. 

All  orders  accompanied  with  a  remittance  promptly  ex 
ecuted. 


82  Cliff-street,  Sept,  1846. 


i 


I** 


^ 


V 


< 


I 


‘  t 

Af>  ' 


f 


f 


rf*  •%  * 


■V 


